RS Group plc explained

RS Group plc
Type:Public
Location:London, England, UK
Revenue: £2,982.3 million (2023)[1]
Operating Income: £383.0 million (2023)
Net Income: £284.8 million (2023)
Num Employees:7,818 (2023)

RS Group plc (formerly Electrocomponents plc) is a distributor of industrial and electrical products based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The company was founded by J. H. Waring and P. M. Sebestyen as Radiospares in a lock-up garage at Lanark Villas in Maida Vale in London in 1937.[2] It supplied radio repair shops with spare parts – replacement electronic components and mechanical components for radio receivers and transmitters.[2]

When television sets became popular, the company added television parts to their product list. As the company expanded it moved to Birchington Road in Kilburn. By the end of the Second World War, the company had evolved into a large national distribution company. In 1954, the founders of Radiospares expanded the company's focus from shops and home users to the industrial sector and began selling electronic components to manufacturers.[2]

The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange as Electrocomponents in 1967.[2] It also operated from Fitzroy House in Epworth Street in Islington during the 1970s.[3]

A feature of the company's operations was its free illustrated catalogue, with every item being given an eight-digit part number. At first, a separate price list was published annually for each country serviced, mail orders were despatched on day of ordering, and cost of postage was borne by the company. Data sheets on individual components were available, free of charge, on request.[2]

It opened a distribution centre at Corby in Northamptonshire in 1984, introduced a CD-ROM catalogue and opened a distribution centre in Nuneaton in Warwickshire in 1995, launched its own E-commerce web site in 1998 and acquired Allied Electronics, a US-based distributor, in 1999.[2]

In 2010, its two main operating companies, RS Components and Allied Electronics, launched free-to-use PCB layout software, DesignSpark PCB.[4] Then in 2012, RS Components and Allied Electronics became two of the main manufacturers and distributors for the Raspberry Pi.[5] [6] [7] It acquired a UK-based provider of outsourcing services, IESA, in May 2018.[8]

In March 2022, Electrocomponents plc announced that it would change its name to RS Group plc in early May 2022.[9] Allied Electronics was brought under RS brand as RS Americas, Inc in 2023.[10]

Operations

RS Group plc is an omni-channel provider of products and services for designers, builders and maintainers of industrial equipment and operations, serving over 1 million customers in more than 80 countries.[11] The company distributes over 600,000 products, including electronic components, electrical, automation and control, and test and measurement equipment, and engineering tools and consumables, sourced from 2,500 suppliers.[11] The company trades under the brands:

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Annual Report and Accounts 2023. RS Group. 11 February 2024.
  2. News: A catalogue of success: How RS Components has grown to become a global distribution power. Walko. John. 12 November 2012. New Electronics. 20. 5 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20130128141433/https://www.newelectronics.co.uk/electronics-technology/rs-components/46143/ . 28 January 2013 . dead.
  3. Web site: Science at Work: Teachers' Guide to Domestic Electricity. 11. 3. Addison-Wesley Publishers. 1979.
  4. News: Allied Who? RS Who? DesignSpark What? . EE Times. Maxfield. Clive "Max". 2013-09-13. 5 December 2015.
  5. Web site: Raspberry Pi Now Shipping From RS Components, Allied . . 18 April 2013 . Kevin . Parrish . 2013-11-20.
  6. Web site: RS Components launches Raspberry Pi bundles . Mark. Say . . August 4, 2013 . 2013-11-20.
  7. Web site: 'It would be fatal if we were still shipping the same Raspberry Pi in 2016' . TechRadar . Graham . Morrison . Linux Format Issue 173 . 6 August 2013 . 2013-11-20.
  8. Web site: Electrocomponents agrees to acquire IESA to extend value added services for corporate customers. 24 May 2018. Components in Electronics. 21 January 2024.
  9. News: Electrocomponents to become RS Group; expects high margins. 30 March 2022. Morning Star. 23 April 2022.
  10. Web site: Name Change Signals New Strategy for Allied Electronics & Automation . Engineering.com. June 23, 2023.
  11. Web site: Investor centre. electrocomponents.com. 27 June 2018.
  12. Web site: RS Components Scoop Top UK Award for Online Investment . National Business Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20031219105222/http://www.thenationalbusinessawards.com/media/2003/winners/e-business.htm . 2003-12-19 . November 19, 2013.
  13. News: Hitaltech announce distribution agreement with Allied Electronics. ECNmag.com. 25 January 2015. 5 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150205073834/http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2014/10/hitaltech-announce-distribution-agreement-allied-electronics. dead.
  14. Web site: Homepage. www.okdo.com. 14 March 2021.
  15. Web site: Winners - PLC Awards 2016 . 28 June 2017.
  16. Web site: Winners of the National Business Awards 2014 . 5 June 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150621005313/http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/Content/2015-Winners-of-the-National-Business-Awards-2014/4_10/ . 21 June 2015 .
  17. Web site: 2012 Winners - The Queen's Awards For Enterprise Magazine . queensawardsmagazine.com . 28 March 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150115070201/http://www.queensawardsmagazine.com/2012winners . 15 January 2015 .

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