Magnet Group
Industry Retailer
Founded Bingley, England (1918)
Founder(s) Tom Duxbury
Headquarters Darlington, England
Number of locations 222 stores (Oct 09)
Area served United Kingdom,
Isle of Man,
Guernsey
Products Kitchens, Joinery
Owner(s) Nobia AB
Employees c2,000
Website www.magnet.co.uk
www.magnettrade.co.uk

Magnet is a British kitchen retailer operating in over 200 locations across the UK supplying products under the Magnet and Magnet Trade brands. The company has over 2,000 employees and its headquarters are in Darlington, County Durham. Magnet was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but is now part of Nobia UK, a division of the Nobia group which is listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange.'

Contents

History [link]

Formation and Early Years [link]

Magnet was established in Bingley, West Yorkshire in 1918 by Tom Duxbury. Legend has it that Duxbury traded his horse for a firelighting company and named his new company Magnet after the horse. During the 1920s Magnet pioneered the mass production of joinery, door and window products and soon began supplying joinery components for major construction projects. New operations were opened in Keighley, Grays and Knaresborough to satisfy demand for the growing business.

1960s [link]

In 1960 the company opened its first branch in Bingley. This concept of the company having their own outlets quickly develops in other towns in the UK.

1970s [link]

Kitchen products were introduced in 1970 and soon after a new factory in Darlington was established to manufacture joinery and kitchen furniture. In 1975 Magnet became Britain’s largest manufacturer of joinery products with 115 branches. In 1975 Magnet merges with timber group Southern-Evans to form Magnet & Southerns.[1] The combined business, following the merger, exceeded 200 branches.

1980s [link]

File:MagnetUUU.jpg
Magnet logo from the 1980s

In 1984 Magnet & Southerns became a founder member of the FTSE-100 share index. The company continued to expand during the 1980s with new manufacturing sites in Rotherham, Thornton, Penrith, Burnley and Deeside opened together with the acquisition of the Thomas Easthams kitchen business. Seeing the growth of the burgeoning DIY sector, the company decided to move into the retail kitchen market and opened its first retail kitchen showrooms in 1985.[2] In 1988 Magnet sold the Southern-Evans timber business in preparation for a £629m management buy out which took place the following year.[3] Soon after difficulties in the UK economy led to a severe downturn in the housing market and a significant downturn in sales. Magnet, unable to pay its bankers, fought to remain cash positive to survive. In 1989 Tom Duxbury led a management buyout of the business.[4] The buyout failed quite quickly and the banks took control of the business.[4]

1990s [link]

File:MagnetHouse.jpg
Magnet logo from the 1990s

In 1990 separate Retail and Trade divisions were established to maximize customer service for these very different market sectors. Factories in Easthams, Thornton, Burnley, Deeside, Gillingham and Lincoln were closed with work transferred to Darlington and Keighley. In 1994 Berisford acquired the company[5] and planned to re-establish Magnet as the Number One Kitchen and Joinery company in the UK. The company’s financial performance stabilized but a lack of investment and a long running industrial dispute[6] meant that the company did not see any significant growth.

2000s [link]

In 2001, Magnet was acquired by Nobia, a Swedish based kitchen company for £134m.[4] Significant investments were made in the company with a multi million pound showroom refurbishment programme[7] and the introduction of the Trade Concept, an initiative to grow the company’s market share in the trade channel. To support the increased demand for Magnet products, further investment was made in the Darlington site converting the manufacturing operation into a modern assemble to order facility.[8]

Operations [link]

Magnet [link]

Current Magnet Retail logo
Magnet retail branch in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Magnet supplies kitchens to retail consumers via 170 showrooms. The company primarily targets the middle market and offers a wide variety of kitchen designs together with a comprehensive range of worktops, sinks & taps, electrical appliances and kitchen accessories. Other services offered include a home survey, free CAD planning, expert installation and a post installation visit. The company's Full Circle Service process guides customers throughout the kitchen buying process from design through to installation.

In 2003 Magnet's retail showroom concept won Best UK Retail Interior by Retail Interiors Magazine and has subsequently refurbished the majority of its estate in line with this footprint. Magnet was the first national kitchen retailer to achieve Trustmark accreditation, a scheme designed to drive out the cowboys in the home improvement sector.[9] Trustmark provides customers with a two-year guarantee on installation and payment protection.

Magnet Trade [link]

File:MagnetTrade.png
Current Magnet Trade logo
Magnet Trade branch in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire

Magnet Trade sells only to registered trade customers through its network of 187 branches. The majority of customers are local tradesmen such as joiners, builders and kitchen fitters. Magnet Trade also supplies organizations in the RSL sector such as Local Authorities and Housing Associations. Alongside a comprehensive kitchen offering (cabinets, appliances, worktops, sinks & taps), the company supplies a wide variety of joinery (Doors, Windows, Timber, Flooring, Hardware). Products are supplied from stock held on site in the branch warehouse. Free kitchen planning, made to measure timber window ordering and local delivery services are also offered.

Magnet Trade has a separate in-store environment and brand identity, in order to clearly differentiate it from the retail business.

Mixed Sites [link]

Magnet mixed site in Staples Corner, London
File:MagnetGuiseley.jpg
Magnet mixed site in Guiseley, West Yorkshire

The majority of Magnet branches have both a trade and retail presence in the same building. There are separate entrances for each different customer group which are clearly designated.

See also [link]

References [link]

  1. ^ "Actuaries Index". https://www.actuaries.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/26225/0105-0109.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-29. [dead link]
  2. ^ "Tempus: Magnet & Southerns". The Times. 1986-01-16
  3. ^ "Magnet Buyout Bid Of $1.07 Billion". The New York Times. 1989-03-30. https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4DE1131F933A05750C0A96F948260. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
  4. ^ a b c Aldrick, Philip (2001-04-24). "Enodis shakes off poison pill Magnet for £134m". London: Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2715578/Enodis-shakes-off-poison-pill-Magnet-for-134m.html. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  5. ^ Berisford International PLC acquires Magnet Ltd(Water Meadow Hldg) from Magnet Group PLC Alacrastore, 3 March 1994
  6. ^ "Britain's longest-running dispute over". BBC News. 1998-04-24. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/82712.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
  7. ^ "Nobia increases investments in Magnet's store network". Nobia. https://www.nobia.com/en/Press/Press_releases/4588/4602/. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
  8. ^ "Complete kitchens made to measure in a couple of hours". The Northern Echo. https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/search/1349926.Complete_kitchens_made_to_measure_in_a_couple_of_hours/. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
  9. ^ Osborne, Hilary (2006-01-30). "Traders sign up to voluntary code of practice". London: The Guardian. https://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2006/jan/30/consumernews.money. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 

External links [link]


https://wn.com/Magnet_Kitchens

Magnet (magazine)

Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.

History

The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option, Raygun, and Alternative Press. The first issue of Magnet came out in mid-1993. Examples of cover stars over the years include Yo La Tengo (1993, 2000), The Afghan Whigs (1994), Spacemen 3 (1997), Shudder To Think (1997), Tortoise/ Swervedriver (1998), Sonic Youth (1998), Sunny Day Real Estate (1998), Ween (2000), Ride (2002), Interpol (2003), Hüsker Dü (2005), and Cat Power (2007).

The magazine's content tends to focus on up-and-coming indie bands and expositions of various music scenes. Examples include long pieces on the Denton, TX psychedelic rock scene (1997), the New York City "Illbient" scene (1997), the history of power pop (2002), the Cleveland avant-punk scene of the 1970s, the Minneapolis college-rock scene of the '80s (2005), the California "Paisley Underground" bands of the '80s (2001), and the resurgence of the Shoegaze movement (2002). Also common is the "artists within a construct" theme -- e.g., the "Eccentrics And Dreamers" issue (2003) featuring various "outsider" artists.

Magnet (band)

Magnet was a band formed for the purpose of recording the soundtrack to the 1973 film The Wicker Man. The band was assembled by musician Gary Carpenter (the film's Associate Musical Director) to perform songs composed by New York songwriter Paul Giovanni. Originally under the moniker Lodestone, later to change to "Magnet" because of a conflict with another band, the group included Peter Brewis (recorders, jaw harp, harmonica, bass guitar, etc.), Michael Cole (concertina, harmonica, bassoon), Andrew Tompkins (guitars), Ian Cutler (violin), Bernard Murray (percussion) and finally Carpenter himself (piano, recorders, fife, ocarina, Nordic lyre, etc.). Carpenter, Brewis and Cole had recently graduated from The Royal College of Music in London and Tompkins, Cutler and Murray were all members of Carpenter's band Hocket. The band also featured Giovanni on guitar and vocals for many tracks and appeared in the film in various scenes.

In 2004 Castle label edited the anthology GATHER IN THE MUSHROOMS The British acid folk underground1968 1974 which include the song "Corn riggs" from Magnet.

Woman (1918 film)

Woman is a 1918 American silent film directed by Maurice Tourneur, an allegorical film showcasing the story of women through points in time. Popular in its day, the film was distributed in the State's Rights plan as opposed to a major distributor like Paramount or Universal. This film has been preserved in private collections and in major venues like the Museum of Modern Art and reportedly the Gosfilmofond Archive in Russia.

Some scenes were shot at Bar Harbor, Maine. It was here that one of Tourneur's cameramen, John van den Broek, lost his life while filming a scene close to the raging Atlantic Ocean. His body was swept out to sea and never found.

Prints of this film are held at Cineteca Del Friuli, Germona, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Gosfilmofond of Russia, Moscow.

Plot

As described in a film magazine, a modern man and woman quarrel and, in reaction to his wife, the husband recalls all the women in history who have failed their husbands or lovers. Being in an unpleasant state, he recalls Adam in the garden with a very vain Eve who disports herself in a Broadway fashion and causes the downfall of caveman-like Adam. Then he dwells on the hideous betrayal of Claudius by an unfaithful Messilna. Next he recalls the useless ruination of Abelard by the charming Heloise. Following this episode he remembers Cyrene and the fisherman, where the wife basely deserted her husband and children to swim once more in her seal skin that had been hidden from her for many years. A particularly disagreeable episode in which a young woman during the American Civil War sacrifices a wounded soldier for a bauble. After this the modern woman returns and pins up a Red Cross poster, and the modern man sees the many women of today as more or less uninspiring. An epilogue noted how World War I made men realize the true value of women, and that women are working towards victory through good works in the Red Cross and other jobs.

Woman (1968 film)

Woman ( - Yeo) is a 1968 three-part South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young, Jung Jin-woo and Yu Hyun-mok. The film was based on ideas of Kim Ki-young's wife, Kim Yu-bong, and Kim directed the last third.

Synopsis

The film is a melodrama about a man who falls in love with a woman while traveling to Seoraksan. The man becomes infatuated with the woman's hair. The woman, who has a terminal illness, promises to leave her hair to the man after she has died. Later the man finds that the woman has died, and her hair has been sold to someone else. He then has a romantic relationship with another woman who turns out to be his mother.

Cast

  • Shin Seong-il
  • Moon Hee
  • Kim Ji-mee
  • Choi Eun-hee
  • Notes

    Bibliography

  • Lee, Kyung-eun. "Woman, Woman, Woman". The House of Kim Ki-young. Archived from the original on 2004-09-08. Retrieved 2008-05-01.  External link in |publisher= (help)
  • "Woman ( Yeo )(1968)". Korean Movie Database (KMDb). Retrieved 2008-01-22. 
  • Yeo (1968) at the Internet Movie Database
  • Woman (disambiguation)

    Woman is an adult female human.

    Woman also can refer to:

  • Womyn, an alternate spelling for woman
  • Music

    Albums

  • Woman (Mike McGear album) and title track, 1972
  • Woman (Nancy Sinatra album), 1972
  • Woman (Burt Bacharach album), 1978
  • Woman (Rhye album), 2013 album and title track
  • Woman (Jill Scott album), 2015
  • Songs

  • "Woman" (Paul McCartney song), recorded by Peter and Gordon in 1965
  • "Woman" (John Lennon song), 1980
  • "Woman", a song by Free from their 1969 self titled album
  • "Woman", a song by James Gang from the 1970 album James Gang Rides Again
  • "Woman", a song by Level 42 from the 1982 album Strategy
  • "Woman", a song by Neneh Cherry, 1996
  • "Woman" (Wolfmother song), 2005
  • "Woman", a song by Delta Goodrem from the 2007 album Delta
  • "W-o-m-a-n", a song by Etta James, from 1955. see Etta James discography
  • Entertainment

  • A Woman, a 1915 film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin
  • Woman (1918 film)
  • Woman (Australian magazine), an Australian magazine published between 1934 and 1954
  • Woman (1968 film)
  • Older (George Michael song)

    "Older" is a single released by George Michael in 1997. It was also released as an EP under the name "The Older EP". The single's b-side is a cover of Bonnie Raitt's single "I Can't Make You Love Me". The single peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart, peaking behind his previous single "Spinning the Wheel" by just one place.

    Music video

    The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.

    Track listings

    All songs were written by George Michael, except where noted.

    "The Older EP"

  • UK: Virgin – VSCDG 1626 (CD), VSC1626 (Cassette)
  • Germany: Virgin – 8940402 (CD)
  • Australia: Virgin – 89404029 (CD)
  • CD single

  • Netherlands: Virgin – 8940382
  • Promo CD single

  • UK: Virgin - VSCDJ1626
  • Charts and certifications

    References

    External links

  • Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
  • Podcasts:

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