GUS plc

Type	Public
Founded	1900 as Universal Stores
Location	London
Key people	Sir Victor Blank, Chairman Terry Duddy, ARG Chief Exec
Industry	Conglomerate
Products	Conglomerate
Revenue	Sales - £7.8 billion Profits (before goodwill, exceptional items and taxation) - £910 million. (Year ending 31 March 2005)
Employees	54,926 (31/03/2004)
Website	www.gusplc.com

GUS plc (LSE: GUS) is a FTSE 100 retailing group based in the United Kingdom. GUS is an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's former name before 2001. Image File history File links The logo of GUS plc. ... Jump to: navigation, search A public company is a company owned by the public. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... A conglomerate is a large company that consists of divisions of often seemingly unrelated businesses. ... A conglomerate is a large company that consists of divisions of often seemingly unrelated businesses. ... In business, revenue is the amount of money that a company actually receives from its activities, mostly from sales of products and/or services to customers. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... Jump to: navigation, search The front page of the English Wikipedia Web site. ... The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building The London Stock Exchange (abbreviated LSE) is a stock exchange located in London. ... The Financial Times Stock Exchange Index of 100 Leading Shares, or FTSE 100 Index (pronounced footsie), is a share index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

The company has several divisions including:

• ARG – The Argos Retail Group, which consists of several subdivisions, including
  • Argos (previously an independent company, before that owned by British American Tobacco) – the UK's largest catalogue retailer
  • Homebase (formerly owned by J Sainsbury who founded Homebase) – a DIY (home improvement) retailer
  • ARG Financial Services – providers of store card services, such as the Argos Card and Argos insurance products.
  • Wehkamp
• Burberry (66% shareholding) – a luxury goods company
• Experian – a credit checking agency

In the year ended 31 March 2005, GUS had sales of £7.8 billion and profits (before goodwill, exceptional items and taxation) of £910 million. Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with nearly 600 stores. ... Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with nearly 600 stores. ... British American Tobacco (BAT) is the second largest cigarette company in the world. ... Homebase is a DIY store and garden centre, with almost 300 stores across the United Kingdom. ... J Sainsbury HQ in Holborn Circus Nearer the door of the HQ J Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsburys, which is a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. ... Homebase is a DIY store and garden centre, with almost 300 stores across the United Kingdom. ... Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland with nearly 600 stores. ... Jump to: navigation, search A ladies Burberry handbag in the companys signature check pattern Burberry is a U.K. based outfitter, manufacturing clothing and other apparel, often in a distinctive check pattern, that has become one of its most common copied trademarks. ... Experian is a business information company. ...

History

Universal Stores was founded in 1900 as a mail order business in Manchester, England by Abraham and George Rose. In 1930, the company changed its name to The Great Universal Stores Limited. The next year it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. At this stage, it was the leading mail order business in the UK. 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Jump to: navigation, search Manchester is a city in the North West of England. ... Jump to: navigation, search Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK... Jump to: navigation, search 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building The London Stock Exchange (abbreviated LSE) is a stock exchange located in London. ... Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. ...

In 1932, Isaac Wolfson joined the company as merchandise controller. He became joint managing director in the same year. He was Chairman from the late 1940s until his retirement in 1987. Through his wealth gained at Great Universal Stores, he established the Wolfson Foundation in 1955. His son, Leonard Wolfson, followed him as Chairman, to be succeeded by David Wolfson (1996–2000). Jump to: navigation, search 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Sir Isaac Wolfson Bt FRS (September 17, 1897 – June 20, 1991) was Chairman of Great Universal Stores and established the Wolfson Foundation. ... The phrase Chairman of the Board has several meanings: Chairman of the Board is the term used to denote the leader of a corporations board of directors. ... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and trends The 1940s were seen as a transition period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s, which also leads the period to be divided in two halves: The first half of the decade was dominated by World War II, the widest and most... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Wolfson Foundation is a registered charity based in London, UK. It was established in 1955 and aims to support the arts, education, health, humanities, research, science and technology. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the year 2000. ...

In 2001 the company changed its name to GUS plc. In May 2005, it announced that it would divest its stake in Burberry by distributing Burberry shares to its own shareholders. It also stated that it planned to demerge Experian from the retail businesses in the future, but wished to retain Experian for a further period to invest in building up the business first. Jump to: navigation, search 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

External links

• Official website
• Yahoo! profile

This article about a retailer in the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Image File history File links UK-flag. ... Look up Stub on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Stub may refer to: method stub, in computer programming. ...