Education specialist to embark on recruitment and acquisition strategy
Ecommerce educational resources supplier Findel Education is recruiting 30 more staff as it plans to embark on a sustainable growth strategy this year.
The company employs around 300 people, of which 250 are based at its Hyde headquarters. The remainder work at Findel’s distribution centre and offices in Nottingham.
As part of the growth plans, the business has undergone a rebrand to enable the expansion of its current service offer for educators.
The business is now called Findel. It owns specialist education brands Hope, GLS, Philip Harris and Davies Sports which have also been rebranded.
These provide resources for primary school, secondary school and early years teaching, school business managers, science teaching resources, and PE and sport equipment, respectively.
Findel’s origins as an educational resources supplier can be traced back to 1817.
Today, its brands and websites offer more than 32,000 products to educators and parents based in the UK and overseas with the business exporting to 130 countries.
Findel’s new brand positioning line following the rebrand, which reflects its heritage and future evolution, is ‘Growing education for generations.’
At the same time as the rebrands, Findel has announced it will be actively expanding its service offer during 2022 through new initiatives and acquisitions of complementary education sector businesses.
Findel was acquired in April last year from Studio Retail Group following a management buyout (MBO) supported by Manchester-based private equity firm Endless.
Chris Mahady, Findel’s chief executive, said: “Since the MBO, independent ownership has allowed us to shape the business as we want and begin to realise its full potential.
“The rebrand project is a critical element of achieving that goal and it heralds a bright new dawn for Findel. This was not simply about refreshing some logos, it was about undertaking a thorough strategic review of our business over a six-month period.”
He added: “We now have a new strategy, vision and direction that will drive us towards becoming a highly successful, multi-faceted, national and international education resources business and a trusted and valued partner to our customers. This will play a huge role in the delivery of our expansion plans as we launch new initiatives, products and services to achieve our ambitious growth plans for the benefit of educators worldwide.”
Since the MBO, and in addition to the rebrand project, Findel has implemented a multimillion-pound investment programme.
Initiatives include recruiting extra staff to cope with increased demand in key areas such as technology and digital marketing, transforming the office accommodation in Hyde and Nottingham and developing new digital and ecommerce technologies alongside a new inventory management system.
