Press
15th December 2006
Activity Superstore, the gift experience company, is now the market leader in the retail sector with a presence in over a 2,000 stores on the high street.
The rise is due to the October launch in Argos of 20 Activity Superstore branded activities including pampering, flying, driving and adrenaline experiences and an opportunity to buy vouchers with a range of denominations.
Boots also launched a range of 10 themed Activity Superstore branded gift packs. The packs use the strap line ‘the perfect gift for a…’ including speed demon, high flyer and thrill seeker with a choice of activities ranging from ice climbing (£65), microlighting (£99) and an interior design course for two (£99).
The company is also celebrating after another successful year in Debenhams with a collection of 19 Activity Superstore branded voucher packs offering a wide range of activity choices from £45 to £199.
In addition AS supplies a range of 15 gift experiences to WHSmith. A relationship that has continued for sixyears.
An Activity Superstore £30 gift card has also been launched in 500
J Sainsbury stores. The cards can be used for a gift experience or used towards an experience.
Internet retailers include Doghouse, Play.com, Gettingpersonal and Amazon.
In 2005 Activity Superstore sold in excess of 40,000 of gift vouchers and it is aiming to increase this by 30% in 2006.
On 11 December the company announced a management buy out (MBO) in order to build upon the company’s success and strong growth in recent years.
A new group company has been created to acquire Activity Superstore from its previous owner Angus Grahame. The new group company is called
Days of Your Life Ltd. Activity Superstore Ltd will continue to trade under its own name as the specialist gift experience company for high street retailers.
The main shareholders of Days of Your Life Limited are new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shaun Powell, Vicki Ling, previously Managing Director (MD) of Activity Superstore, and a new Finance Director, Stuart Miller.
Mr Powell was formerly Managing Director of Thomson Holidays and Tui Espana. He brings a wealth of marketing, holiday and leisure industry experience spanning the last 10 years. Before that he was Commercial Director of Barclaycard.
Miss Ling takes over as the group’s Chief Operating Officer. Vicki has been with the Saffron Walden based company since it started in 1997 and has an in-depth knowledge of the business having worked her way up through the ranks and having successfully led the company, as MD for the last four years.
Mr Miller, whose last role was as Finance Director of Style Holidays, qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in KPMG in Milton Keynes before crossing over to industry in 1993.
In addition there will be a new Chairman, Martin Leppard who is a seasoned Senior Executive with 30 years experience in service companies.
Angus Grahame, the successful entrepreneur who founded Activity Superstore, is pursuing other business interests but remains as a shareholder. He believes strongly in the new team and their plans for the company’s future.
The MBO brings both financial investment and a new leadership team, blending extensive knowledge of the gift experience market with new skills and perspectives necessary to take the company to the next stage of development.
Shaun Powell said: “It’s a very exciting time for the business and we have ambitious growth plans for the future. The MBO enables us to consolidate and build upon the wealth of experience that the company has to offer whilst using innovation and new opportunities to dynamically grow the market.”
Vicki Ling added: “I’m thrilled to be part of the MBO. We’re passionate about what we do and we’ll continue to focus on our core business. Our retail success is due to our competitive pricing, flexibility, branding and packaging solutions and the extensive range of activities we offer.”
For corporate business enquiries contact Sharon Harrison, business development manager, tel: 0870 162 1625, email: corporate@activitysuperstore.com
- Ends -
Notes to Editors:
- Based in Essex, Activity Superstore and Funday.com arrange exciting activity days for over 100,000 customers a year.
- The range includes over 400 different activities.
- Activity Superstore was created in 1997. Since then the company has continued to grow at a phenomenal pace and is now the leading supplier in the retail sector with AS branded gift packs in Argos, Boots, Debenhams and J Sainsbury. In addition AS supplies a range of own label gift experiences to WHSmith.
- Activity Superstore has twice been ranked in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100.
- Funday.com is the new online gift experience brand from Activity Superstore Ltd. Funday.com guarantees the lowest online prices with all activities receiving comprehensive Health & Safety checks and £50,000 personal accident insurance included free.
www.activitysuperstore.com
www.funday.com
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