Ryman
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2014) |
 | |
| Company type | Private Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | London (1893) |
| Headquarters | Ryman House, Savoy Road, Crewe, Cheshire, UK [1] |
Number of locations | 220[2] |
Key people |
|
| Products | Stationery, office and home office supplies |
| Revenue | £131.0 million (2015/16) |
| Owner | Theo Paphitis |
| Website | www |
Ryman is a UK stationery retail company with over 220 outlets nationwide in the UK. The website and stores provide a wide range of stationery and office supplies for homes and businesses with its headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire.
History
Formation
Henry J Ryman, founder of Ryman, opened his first store in London in 1893 on Great Portland Street, a store that is still there today. Originally, Henry started as a book printer, however this business was short-lived.[3] The business was successfully owned and managed by the Ryman family for several generations with Mr Jack Ryman succeeding Henry in 1931 until 1951 when he passed it on to his own sons, Desmond and Nicholas. From 1912 til 1995, the business traded as H. J. Ryman Retail Limited.[4][5]
In the 1970s the business was sold from the family and passed through several different owners, including the Burton Group, Terence Conran, Jennifer D'Abo and Pentos.[6]
In 1995 it was acquired by Chancerealm Ltd, which changed its name to Ryman Group Limited. Ryman Group joined the Theo Paphitis Retail Group where Theo Paphitis is the chairman and Kypros Kyprianou is the Group Chief Executive. Other directors include Ian Childs, Malcolm Cooke, Simon Lakin and Richard Towner. [7]
In 2001, Chancerealm acquired the stationery retailer Partners with 86 stores and subsequently in 2007 purchased 61 Stationery Box stores. The businesses were combined together in October 2008 to build the national stationery retail chain under the Ryman name.
Theo Paphitis
Theo Paphitis, a British entrepreneur best known for his time on BBC's Dragons' Den, acquired Ryman in 1995. He introduced the 'Ryman Direct mail order catalogue in 1996, the Ryman website in 1998 and has turned Ryman into a successful and profitable business comprising 232 stores with a turnover of more than £120m. As well as Ryman he is the owner of the homewares specialist Robert Dyas and lingerie retailer Boux Avenue.
Stores and Products
Ryman Stationery currently operates over 230 shops mainly found in England, Scotland and Wales.
It has been a leader in product innovation throughout its history. Ryman was the first to introduce the concept of colour to filing, with both cabinets and folders. Today Ryman Stationery stock a wide range of inkjet cartridges, printers, pens, paper, envelopes, office essentials, filing, presentation materials, diaries and Back to School Supplies.
Sponsorship
Ryman are sponsors of the English football Isthmian League, known as the Ryman League which in its 19th year is currently the longest running sponsorship in UK football.
In addition Ryman also sponsors cricket through the Surrey Championship
Charity
Ryman is an official partner of Comic Relief, raising over £2million for the charity through the sale of exclusive Comic Relief pens in its shops and online as well as other fundraising activities.
References
- ^ "Ryman - Contact Us". Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ a b "Ryman - About Us". Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ ""Treaty of peace between Russia and Esthonia", Published by H J Ryman Ltd., Printers". Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Companies House - HAYES RETAIL LIMITED". Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Geni - Henry Ryman - About". Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "(Web Archive) Ryman Brochure". Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Companies House - Ryman Group Limited - Officers". Retrieved 2016-01-15.