Type Private Area served United Kingdom. Website www.wrenkitchens.com CEO Armando Sanchez (2009–) Number of locations 61 Number of employees 3,000 | Industry Retail & Manufacturing Products Kitchens Headquarters Howden, United Kingdom Founded 2009 Revenue 250 million GBP | |
 | ||
Key people Mark Pullan Managing Director Parent organization The West Retail Group Limited Profiles | ||
Wren Kitchens is a privately owned British designer, manufacturer and retailer of kitchens. The company has 61 showrooms across the United Kingdom, and its headquarters is in Barton-Upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire, England.
Contents
Until December 2013, the headquarters were in Howden, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, where it still operates a factory.
History
Wren Kitchens was founded in 2009. The management team behind Wren has 35 years' experience within the kitchen market, in both the United Kingdom & United States. The team traded for 10 years in the United States, before the business was sold, and the team moved back to the United Kingdom. In 2014 they appeared on BBC Watch dog for many reports of issues with supply, poor service, and inferior quality products - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3lqvK2zXdhd399TdpX7pBtH/wren-kitchens
Manufacturing Facilities
Wren manufactures kitchen units in its own production plant in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, where it created 300 jobs. Wren invested an additional £5M into the production plant and its machinery in 2013, creating a further 100 jobs within the Scunthorpe area. In August 2013, Wren bought a 750,000 square foot plant in Barton-upon-Humber from Kimberly-Clark.
Consumer Confidence
In Spring 2016 Wren Kitchens was one of 12 kitchen brands researched by WHICH? Consumer Association. WrenLiving came second from last out of the 12 kitchen companies assessed.
In March 2016, Wren Kitchens was fined £12,000 after pleading guilty to breaking the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, Regulation 9 and the European Communities Act 1972 Section 2(2). The fine is a result of misleading customers on kitchen pricing.
In May 2015, Wren Kitchens was investigated by BBC Watchdog for providing customers with poor customer service. The investigation found that the company had provided partial orders to customers and was extremely slow to rectify issues. In some cases, customers were left without a functioning kitchen for seven months. Wren Kitchens responded by stating that they are heavily investing in improving their customer service department.
In June 2011, Wren launched a bid to protect consumer confidence in United Kingdom, companies in the kitchen and bedroom sector, following the demise of the HomeForm Group. The company offered to honour quotes given by Moben Kitchens and Sharps Bedrooms to ensure anyone who had paid up to a 50% deposit would not be left out of pocket.
In June 2011, in an article in The Times the aggressive expansion of Wren Kitchens was cited as the reason for HomeForm Group, (parent company of Möben Kitchens & Sharps Bedrooms) being put into administration. Wren subsequently offered to protect the deposits of customers affected by the collapse of the group.