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AO.com
Company typePublic limited company
LSE: AO.
IndustryOnline retail
Founded2000
HeadquartersBolton, Greater Manchester
Key people
Steve Caunce (CEO)
Geoff Cooper (Chair)
John Roberts (Founder)
Revenue£599.2 million (2016)[1]
£(10.6) million (2016)[1]
£(6.1) million (2016)[1]
Number of employees
2000
Websitewww.ao.com

AO.com (formerly Appliances Online) is an online retailer specialising in electrical goods. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History[edit]

The company was established as Appliances Online by John Roberts in 2000, after a close friend bet Roberts £1 that he could not set up an online retailer. Roberts would later receive the £1.[2][3][4]

In 2004, Sainsbury’s became the Group’s first client, with Appliances Online building and maintaining online platforms for the sale of white goods under the supermarket chain’s branding; the company went on to provide similar services to Boots, Next, House of Fraser, B&Q, Iceland and other high street chains.

In 2009 the company acquired the distribution business Expert Logistics, which enabled it to begin self-delivery of goods. Expert continues to provide third party logistics services in addition to distributing AO products. In 2010 Appliances Online launched a review website, Appliances Reviews.[5][6][7]

In 2011, the company invested £750,000 into a video studio to produce video reviews for its Appliances Online and Appliance Reviews websites. The studio, located in Bolton, had kitchen sets, equipment and production and editing suites.[8] In 2011, the company also signed for an initial 15,000 sq ft at Bruntwood's Riverside building in Manchester, employing 100 people.[9]

In 2013 the company re-branded as ao.com[10] In October 2013 the company began selling small appliances and launched a same day delivery service. Roberts claims this was the first seven-day and next-day delivery service in the UK.[11] In 2013 the company's Facebook page surpassed 1 million fans[12] and won a PayPal Retail award.[13]

In February 2014 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange as AO World.[14] In the process, Roberts made £86m by selling 10% of the company to the public.[15] In October 2014 the company launched operations in Germany[16] followed by a launch in the Netherlands in March 2016.[17]

In February 2017 Roberts was succeeded as Chief Executive Officer by Steve Caunce, the former Chief Operating Officer. Caunce became responsible for strategy and performance delivery, with Roberts remaining on the board with the title of Founder and Executive Director, responsible for innovation and team inspiration.[17]

Awards and recognition[edit]

  • Retail Week Employer of the Year Award 2015[18]
  • Employer of the Year, Oracle Retail Week Awards 2015 [19]
  • Which? Magazine's Best UK Online Shop - joint 1st 2015
  • Best Customer Service Operation, 2011 European Call Centre & Customer Service Awards.[20]

The company was named as 63rd in the Sunday Times '100 Best Companies to Work For' list in 2011.[citation needed] In 2012 the company was named 5th in the Sunday Times' list,[21] and in 2013 climbed to 4th, retaining this position in 2014.[22]

Operations[edit]

ao.com
Type of site
E-commerce website
URLao.com
Launched2000
Current statusActive

The company now has over 2000 employees. It is headquartered across more than 50,000sq ft of offices in Bolton.[24] It accounts for 25 per cent of the UK online major domestic appliances market and is reportedly one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK.[25]

Advertising[edit]

The company launched a new advertising campaign on 3 May 2013 to mark the rebrand of the business from Appliances Online to ao.com. The first advert follows a fictional new employee called ‘Dave’ and his over-enthusiastic inductor on his first day at work. A further advert was aired showing ‘Barry Catchpole’.[26] Its adverts feature a version of the Ramones song "Blitzkrieg Bop" in which the words "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" are reinterpreted as "A.O. Let's go!".[27]

In July 2015, AO became the official sponsors of Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Royal London One-Day Cup kit, utilizing AO’s bright green as the dominant colour; in 2017 the partnership was extended until 2021.[28]

In March 2017, AO became the sponsor for Britain’s Got Talent 11th series. The accompanying television campaign featured Britain’s Got Talent acts and staff members from the company’s offices in Bolton and Crewe.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  2. ^ Griffith, Gabriella (26 Nov 2014). "The man who started his business over a £1 bet". City A.M. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  3. ^ "- Our Story".
  4. ^ Boyce, Lee (2016-05-17). "A coffee with... the founder of AO.com, John Roberts". This is Money. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  5. ^ "AO to extend logistics fleet branding". Logistics Manager. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  6. ^ "DRL acquires Expert Logistics". Ertonline.co.uk. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  7. ^ "AO Corporate - History". ao.com. 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  8. ^ "Online appliance seller creates film studio to review products". The Bolton News. Media Group. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  9. ^ Feddy, Kevin (7 October 2011). "DRL creating hundreds of jobs at new call centre". Manchester Evening News. M.E.N. Media.
  10. ^ "Appliances Online looking to diversify after 10 Associates , Prolific North, 2 September 2013".
  11. ^ "Sarah Vizard, Retailers that focus on price will lose out in crucial Christmas shopping period, Marketing Week, 10 Oct 2013".
  12. ^ "Graham Charlton, How Appliances Online went from 2,500 to 1m Facebook fans in just two years, Eco 21 May 2013".
  13. ^ "Appliances Online wins 3 PayPal awards for Facebook work, Huddled, 14 June 2013".
  14. ^ "Online Retailer World Surges on London Trading Debut". Bloomberg L.P. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  15. ^ Neate, Rupert (26 February 2014). "AO.com founder makes £86m as white goods retailer floats on stock market". Retrieved 16 April 2017 – via The Guardian.
  16. ^ "AO World to launch into new European markets". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Subscribe to read". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 May 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) Cite error: The named reference "Financial Times" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Winners 2015 - Retail Week Awards". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  19. ^ "AO.com named best employer at 'retail Oscars'". The Bolton News. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  20. ^ "Staff go the extra mile to help their customers". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  21. ^ "Retailer 'second best employer' in region". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 4 March 2012.
  22. ^ "'best100companies'". The Sunday Times.
  23. ^ "ao.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  24. ^ "Fast-growing DRL signs deal for new Bolton headquarters, Bdaily, 8 Aug 2013".
  25. ^ Goldfingle, Gemma (2017-05-19). "Interview: Ao.com founder John Roberts on reinventing white goods retail". Retail Week. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  26. ^ "Ad of the Day: Appliances Online - 'Barry'". The Drum. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  27. ^ Nic Fildes (3 June 2015). "Tempus: investors look at AO and say: let's go". The Times. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  28. ^ Jets, Durham; Lightning, Lancashire. "Lancashire Lightning 2017 Kit". Lancashire County Cricket Club. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
  29. ^ Tan, Emily; long?, How (2017-03-07). "AO.com to sponsor Britain's Got Talent". Campaign. Retrieved 2017-05-21.

External links[edit]


Category:2000 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:Commerce websites Category:Companies based in Bolton Category:Internet properties established in 2000 Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Retail companies of the United Kingdom

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