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About Us |
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our history
The
Company was started in 1964 by Noel Lister & Donald Searle-Mullard
Furniture Industries, to sell government surpluses following the
end of the Second World War. By the late 1960’s they were
selling flat packed merchandise in stores as well as by mail
order.
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In 1971 the Company was listed on the stock exchange.
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In 1980’s MFI bought Status Discount, a flat pack retailer
specialising in kitchens & bedrooms. By 1984 it was the leader
in self assembly furniture.
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In 1985 MFI joined Asda to become one of the largest retailers
in the UK. This lasted for 2 years.
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In 1992 MFI was floated successfully on the stock exchange.
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In 1995 Howden’s Joiners joined the Company focusing on kitchens
and joinery products.
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In the late 1990s new stores opened, a new CAD system was
developed and new products were introduced.
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By 2000 it had become a member of the World Wide Fund for
Nature.
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From 2000 we have invested in more new products, stream lining
the supply chain, reviewing the look of the stores and
emphasising excellent levels of customer care.
Today we have over 190 stores of between 15,000 & 25,000 square
feet. Home deliveries amount for over 50 million items a year
going to 2.5 million households in the UK & Northern Ireland. |
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now in 2007 |
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MFI Retail,
the UK’s leading national retailer of quality fitted furniture,
today announces details of its new management team and its plans
to turnaround the business.
This follows MFI Furniture Group PLC gaining shareholder support
at an Extraordinary General Meeting on Monday 16 October 2006 to
approve the sale of MFI Retail to a private equity-backed
management team.
Led by CEO Gary Favell, the former CEO of Magnet, the new
management team has more than 40 years’ combined experience in
the retail furniture sector and wide-ranging experience of
working with private equity investors.
The team comprises David Hamid (former CEO of Halfords Group
plc), Kenneth McGill (former Finance Director of Kwik-Fit
Group), Chris Pavlosky (former Senior Non-Executive Director of
Limelight Plc) and Marc Bertrand (former HR director with Magnet
Ltd).
Backed by Merchant Equity Partners, the new owners of MFI will
provide £40m of working capital for the business and invest a
further £62m. Additionally, and as part of the original purchase
agreement, MFI’s previous owners have provided MFI with £60.6m,
including an estimated £51.9m in respect of customer deposits,
being payments made by Retail customers in advance of delivery
of their orders. The previous owners will provide an additional
investment of £53.1m by September 2007 and a further payment of
up to £12.0m in April 2008.
The new team will continue to trade the existing 200 store
portfolio, while looking to upgrade many aspects of the
business, including greater focus on customer service; updating
and improving the product range; improving utilisation of
floorspace; establishing closer supplier relationships;
investing in logistics, IT, supply systems and product
development; enhancing internal communications; and introducing
tighter controls on expenditure. |
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meet the management team |
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Gary Favell (50)
Chief Executive
Officer
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Most recently Chief Executive of Wyevale Garden
Centres, Gary was CEO of Magnet Ltd, a leading
retailer and manufacturer of kitchens, bedrooms
and bathrooms between 1998 and 2004. Following
the 2001 sale of Magnet to Nobia,
Europe's largest manufacturer and retailer of
kitchens, Gary was appointed Vice President and
a member of the Advisory Board, with
responsibility for introducing best retail
practice across 700 owned and franchised outlets
throughout Europe.
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Under his leadership, Magnet earnings
significantly increased following a major
investment in the Company's retail operations.
In 2004, Magnet was awarded Retail Week’s
“Retail Employer of the Year” in recognition of
the company’s progressive training, development
and reward strategies which resulted in
increased colleague satisfaction and reduced
staff turnover.
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From 1988 to 1998, when Magnet was a listed
company,
Gary was Group Sales Director and Marketing
Director and prior to that he was with Harris
Queensway.
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David Hamid, (54)
Chairman
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David is a partner at Merchant Equity Partners
and Chairman of Novus Leisure, the operator of
premium bars and restaurants in
London’s West End.
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A former CEO of Halfords Group plc, David spent
17 years with Dixons Group plc in various
executive appointments and latterly as Chief
Operating Officer. He spent his early career
with Imperial Foods, Sony and Alfred Dunhill.
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Kenneth McGill (48)
Finance Director
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Ken was previously Group and UK Finance Director
with private equity-owned Kwik-Fit Group, the
European tyre and exhaust retailer, where he had
held a variety of financial positions within the
group between 1980 and 2006. During this time he
implemented the successful turnaround plan with
the CEO and had a successful period as Acting
Chief Executive of the European businesses.
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Chris Pavlosky (57)
Chief Operating
Officer
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Chris is the former Chief Executive of Omar
Homes, the modular housing and parks homes
group.
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Until 2004 he was Chairman of Polestar Hispanica
in
Madrid, Spain, and Chairman of Revai Nyomda in
Budapest, Hungary, prior to this he was COO of
the Polestar Group, Europe’s largest contract
printer all backed by Investcorp private equity.
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A former Management Consultant with Coopers &
Lybrand in
New York he was also Managing Director of
Courage, brewers of Fosters, John Smiths and
Kronenbourg and held a number of senior
positions in Dixons and Currys.
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Between 1998 and 2001, Chris was Non-Executive
Director of Limelight Plc, the Moben Kitchens,
Sharp Bedrooms, Dolphin Bathrooms and Portland
Conservatories business.
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Chris is also Non Executive Chairman of
Globelinkone2one Telecommunications Company
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Marc Bertrand (44)
HR Director
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Marc was Human Resources and Change Management
Director with Magnet Ltd between November 1998
and October 2005.Immediately prior to that, Marc
was Head of Human Resources at Kwik Save Group
Plc and between 1990 and 1997 he held
division-level human resources board roles at
various divisions within Pilkington Group,
including direct commercial responsibility as MD
of the Bradford site – one of the group’s
largest glass distribution businesses.
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