19-548: Metal Industries, Limited was a conglomerate of mostly British engineering companies. It was founded in Glasgow in 1922 by Robert Watson McCrone. In 1953 its activities were described as "electrical and mechanical engineering manufacture and metal trading" In 1967, Aberdare Holdings of South Wales acquired a controlling interest in the group, but was quickly thwarted when M.I. created a large tranche of new shares which it sold to Thorn Electrical Industries , giving Thorn overall control of
38-476: A new showroom in Myaree , Western Australia . The new Richmond showroom will become Winning Appliance's 15th showroom and fifth flagship showroom, alongside Fortitude Valley, Kingston, Redfern and Osborne Park showrooms. Winning Appliances has a long association with the sailing industry. The company sponsored the 2011 18 ft Winning Appliances JJ Giltinan Invitation Race . The company also donated its boat,
57-581: The 'Metal Industries' group of Thorn until 1970, when it merged with the George Cohen 600 group to become Six Hundred Metal Holdings. In 1976, Thorn sold its interest in the group to the government-owned British Steel Corporation . Thorn Electrical Industries Thorn Electrical Industries Limited was a British electrical engineering company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange , but merged with EMI Group to form Thorn EMI in 1979. It
76-527: The 1930s the company obtained the agency for A Simpson & Son Ltd, an Adelaide manufacturer of a vast range of metalware and cooking equipment. When Simpson's moved into manufacturing whitegoods , the Winning family followed suit and entered the same market. The demand for gas stoves , electric ranges and petrol-powered and electric wringer washing machines increased after World War II , which resulted in R.W. Winning & Co. expanding staff numbers. Over
95-561: The Barnsley company, a manufacturer of knives and tools for the leather and grinding trade. Alongside horse and carriage products, R. W. Winning & Co. represented the Pyrex company, which made Corningware, and the Royal Stafford China company. R. W. Winning & Co. sourced international products during World War I and through the 1920s and was able to weather the depression. In
114-613: The EMI Group in October 1979, to form Thorn EMI . On 16 August 1996, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of de-merging Thorn. The electronics and rentals divisions were divested as Thorn plc. Future Rentals, a subsidiary of the Nomura Group , acquired Thorn in 1998. It subsequently passed to Terra Firma Capital Partners which set up the BrightHouse chain. The remainder of the company
133-519: The UK telephone equipment market. GT&E was later replaced by Ericcson of Sweden who wanted a foothold in the UK equipment market and who eventually bought out Thorn's interest. The Thorn Group's notable brands over the years included Radio Rentals , DER (both TV rental), Rumbelows (electrical goods), Tricity (cookers and fridges), Kenwood (food mixers), Thorn Kidde (fire protection), TMD (microwave equipment) and Mazda (light bulbs). Thorn merged with
152-549: The company. The City Panel on Takeovers and Mergers referred to "abuses and inequities" that occurred during this chaotic takeover, among others at the time, but declined to recommend tougher regulations. A good history of the company's shipbreaking activities was published by the World Ship Society in 1992 in Ian Buxton's "Metal Industries: Shipbreaking at Rosyth and Charlestown". The subsidiary companies continued to trade as
171-497: The electronics firm Ferguson Radio Corporation in the late 1950s and Ultra Electronics in 1961. Thorn took over Glover and Main , a local Edmonton company in 1965, a gas-appliance manufacturer. Thorn manufactured television sets in Australia. The company also owned Thorn Benham which made electrical catering equipment. It had a joint venture in the 70's with General Telephone and Electronics of America (GTE) to try and break into
190-631: The first Canberra Flagship Showroom opening in December. The new Redfern Flagship Showroom was recognised at the 2014 World Retail Awards in Paris . In July 2018, Winning Appliances acquired Michael's Appliance Centre, a deal which saw Michael Wood become an ambassador for the John Winning-owned company, while also announcing plans for two new store projects, a new flagship showroom in Richmond, Victoria; and
209-582: The website and the winner was selected by a judging panel at a live cook-off final in May 2013 at Winning Appliances' new Redfern showroom. In June 2014 Winning Appliances expanded into the Western Australia market through its acquisition of Kitchen HQ. In 2015, David Woollcott, previously the sales director at Miele , was appointed the new CEO of Winning Appliances, replacing David Crane. In 2016, Winning Appliances expanded into The Australian Capital Territory with
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#1733092716413228-593: The years, few agencies have been lost, and although the company still acts as a selling agent for certain products, it has become a recognised retailer in its own right. The company was the first to introduce front loader washing machines into the Australian market, and units were delivered to retail outlets as well as installed into new properties on behalf of developers. Winning Appliances became an Australian pioneer in offering households white goods which were attractively displayed in kitchen settings. The first showroom
247-479: Was appointed CEO, while also continuing to lead Appliances Online, before becoming CEO of the Winning Group in 2012. The Winning Group comprises Appliances Online, Winning Appliances, Handy Crew (Which has now been re-branded as Winning Services) and Home Clearance. In 2012, Winning Appliances launched a national cooking competition and online food community called Best Home Chef. The top 25 recipes were chosen from
266-769: Was de-merged in 1996 and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index , but was acquired by the Japanese Nomura Group only two years later. It is now owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners . Sir Jules Thorn founded the company with his business partner Alfred Deutsch in March 1928 as The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd. Thorn had worked in England as a travelling salesman for company Olso, an Austrian manufacturer of gas mantles . When Olso went bankrupt, Thorn decided to stay in England. Deutsch, an Austrian engineer, visited Thorn in 1928 and
285-415: Was founded in 1906 by Richard William Winning. He believed that the carriage , hardware and saddlery trade was a substantial enough industry for him to establish his own business, incorporating R.W. Winning Pty Ltd. The company was initially registered as R.W. Winning & Co., Manufacturers Representative, after securing agency agreements with agencies in England. In 1911, RW Winning began representing
304-1173: Was in Clarence Street before it was eventually moved to its current flagship site in Philip Street, Redfern . The Winning family retains 100 per cent ownership of the business and trades as Winning Appliances Pty Ltd. The company significantly increased its ranges of products and services in the 1990s, and now has seven stores in New South Wales , in Brookvale , Crows Nest , Narellan , Newcastle , Northmead , Redfern and Taren Point , two in Queensland , in Fortitude Valley and Indooroopilly , two in Victoria, Brighton (previously Michael's), Richmond and one in The Australian Capital Territory in Kingston . Its Brisbane showroom
323-714: Was opened in August 2011 and was the first store nationally to include bathroom fixtures and fittings. The second store opened in November 2012 in Indooroopilly . In 2005, John Winning, son of former CEO John Winning Senior, launched Appliances Online as an online venture of Winning Appliances, servicing the white goods market. The company later purchased and re-launched Big Brown Box from Thorn Group , selling audio-visual products such as televisions. In November 2011, John Murphy stepped down as General Manager of Winning Appliances and
342-561: Was persuaded to stay to help organize the company's production process. Thorn acquired the Atlas Lamp Works company in 1932 and began making light bulbs in Edmonton , North London . The company grew rapidly to become Thorn Lighting , one of the world's largest producers of lamps, luminaires and lighting components. The name changed again to Thorn Electrical Industries in November 1936. The company later began to diversify by buying
361-672: Was sold to a private buyer in June 2007. Big Brown Box was launched in Australia in 2008 by Thorn, and was later sold to Appliances Online , a subsidiary of Winning Appliances , in 2011. The site was an online retailer of AV equipment, consumer electronics, and appliances. Appliances Online Winning Appliances is an Australian-family-owned kitchen and laundry appliance specialist. The company operates showrooms across Australia and sells various kitchen and laundry appliances. Its national headquarters are in Redfern , Sydney . Winning Appliances
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