Press Release - LED Hut and Batteries Plus LLC Partner in £18m Deal LED Hut, the UK’s leading online LED lighting retailer, has announced that it has merged with Batteries Plus LLC – the largest battery and light bulb franchise in the US – in an £18m deal. The move is set to see the already fast-growing LED Hut business more than quadruple in size by 2017. Since launching in April 2011, LED Hut has rapidly grown from a five-person start-up operation to a 60 strong team today – with a 550% turnover increase in just three years. This growth has seen the company move to a 26,000 sqft Manchester warehouse to meet soaring demand, open its own call centre and flagship store, as well as successfully target new markets in Europe and beyond. Set up by entrepreneur Jonathan Ruff, the partnership with Batteries Plus was the logical next step in LED Hut’s ambitious growth strategy: “We were looking for a well-established partner that would support us in our next expansion phase and Batteries Plus was the perfect fit. It has a solid standing in the marketplace and the team brings with it strong experience in the retail sector – with a franchise network of over 625 stores across the US. This matched with LED Hut’s strength in e-commerce makes for a particularly powerful partnership.” Batteries Plus CEO Russ Reynolds adds: “Led Hut is the online market leader in the UK, with a growing presence in pan-European markets as well. They have a dynamic management team that we believe can grow even faster with the support of our resources. We consider this more of a merger as we also believe Led Hut’s online expertise will help us with our Omni channel vision here in the US.” The move means LED Hut will be able to diversify its already wide product range to include more top quality LED lighting products as well as a vast selection of batteries. It will also support LED Hut as it plans to roll out its own retail stores across the UK. Adds Jonathan Ruff: “We’ve just opened our first flagship LED Hut store in Jersey, which is already proving a real success. The next step, however, is to open 40+ retail outlets across the UK, and it’s great to know that we’ll have the backing of Batteries Plus’ extensive experience in this area as we roll this out.” The new stores will showcase the company’s wide variety of LED lighting products and will highlight the significant money and energy savings people can achieve by switching to long-lasting eco-friendly LEDs. The stores will also act as ‘click and collect’ centres, so people can order online and pick up stock at their local shop at their own convenience. LED Hut has become the number one online resource for LEDs, and is leading the way in helping the nation cut bills and go green by switching to energy-efficient lighting. Amid rising bills and increasing pressure to save energy, the company’s extensive range of eco-friendly LEDs offers a cost-effective way for households and businesses to save as much as 90%1 on lighting bills – all whilst enjoying long-lasting, quality lighting. In the last year alone, LED Hut has sold more than 1.8m LEDs in the UK. ENDS About LED Hut: LED Hut was founded in April 2011 by online entrepreneur Jonathan Ruff and has quickly established itself as the UK’s leading online resource for LED lighting. LED Hut offers customers a vast range of top-quality, competitively priced LED products matched with attractive product guarantees and a fast, reliable delivery service. Specialising solely in the LED lighting sector, the company offers unrivalled industry expertise and highest level of customer service. LED Hut is the major stockist of the leading Lumilife brand. For more information, visit ledhut.co.uk. About Batteries Plus Batteries Plus is the nation’s first, largest and fastest growing battery and light bulb franchise with a nationwide network of over 625 Batteries Plus Bulbs stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico. Batteries Plus is majority-owned by Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta-based private equity firm. With access to more than 45,000 types of batteries, light bulbs and accessories, Batteries Plus Bulbs has the widest selection of battery and light bulb products available and offers unmatched service to retail and business consumers at the national and local levels. Batteries Plus Bulbs also offers on-site repairs for Apple® devices, including iPhones®, iPads® and iPods®, most Samsung® devices and many more. For additional information, visit batteriesplus.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 12:19:49 +0000
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