On 12th March 2001, Victoria Plum Ltd was founded. Why not take a trip down memory lane, as we thank you for shopping with us over the past 20 years.
If you can cast your mind back 20 years, to a world where online retail giants Amazon were a fledgling online book seller and internet shopping was yet to take off, a new and innovative business was about to be launched, changing the face of British bathrooms forever.
Yes, Victoria Plumb (with a "b" back in those days) began trading from small premises in Hull, East Yorkshire. Unlike traditional bathroom retailers, our philosophy was simple. Work direct with suppliers, cut out the middlemen, sell without expensive showrooms, and pass all those savings on to you, our valued customers. And it's a philosophy we've stuck to over the past 20 years.
20 years of Victoria Plum
To celebrate our 20th birthday, take a brief trip down memory lane with us to see just how far we've come.
2006
Founded by brothers Jason and Shane Walker, our small, family business quickly outgrew its original offices, resulting in a move to a larger site in Hull, East Yorkshire.
2012
Our first of many, many TV ads (some of which you can view on our YouTube channel) shot us to nationwide fame. Here's one of our more recent ads...
2013
In 2013, we received further national recognition, winning a Retailer of the Year award at the prestigious ECMOD Venda Awards. This was followed by yet more "firsts", with TV sponsorship of "Sunday Night at the Palladium" and "Celebrity Squares". Plus, our enchanced responsive website continued to help customers shop quickly and easily, no matter which device they used.
Hosted by Warwick Davis, Celebrity Squares was one of our first TV sponsorship deals
2014
This was a standout year for us, as global investment firm TPG bought a majority stake in the company.
2015
2015 was arguably the biggest year in the history of Victoria Plum. With support from TPG, we relaunched as "VictoriaPlum.com" (dropping the "b" from our name) and invested in a 277,000 sq feet Distribution Centre in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, creating local jobs and allowing us to offer more products than ever before, including big brand names like Ideal Standard, Mira Showers, Grohe and Bristan. We also opened our new head office in Hessle, East Yorkshire and served our 1 millionth customer.
Our state-of-the-art Distribution Centre in Doncaster opened in 2015
2017
To help bring our Trade customers bigger and better benefits than ever before, we launched our Trade Loyalty Scheme, including guaranteed trade discounts, free delivery, account management and much, much more.
2019
Improvements to our home delivery service, including specific time slots, a track and trace system—giving live location and ETA updates, plus Click and Collect for smaller orders, gave our customers more options than ever before. This was recognised by the Freight Transport Association who awarded us their Most Innovative Company of the Year award.
The victorious Victoria Plum team at the National Freight Association Logistics Award
In another bold move, we launched a nationwide Design and Installation service, providing our customers with a full, hassle-free, end-to-end service, including a free, no-obligation design and fully accredited installation.
And, to round off the year nicely, ownership of Victoria Plum changed hands, with Yorkshire-based private equity firm Endless LLP providing further investment to support our future growth.
2020
After serving our 2 millionth customer, we responded quickly to the global COVID-19 pandemic by introducing contactless delivery, homeworking for office-based colleagues and strict social distancing measures at our logistics hubs.
To underline our commitment to safety, we also won an International Safety Award with Merit for the second year running.
2021
In 2021, we reached a landmark 100,000 customer reviews on Trustpilot, where we are proud to be rated "Excellent"—which all brings us neatly up-to-date.
Compare independent and verified reviews to those of our competitors on Trustpilot, where we're rated "Excellent"
Thank you
And finally, we would like to say a big THANKS to you, our valued customers. We look forward to helping you achieve all your Little Bathroom Victories for another 20 years and beyond!
Find out more about Victoria Plum and follow us on social media by clicking on any of the buttons below.
