Company type | Limited company |
---|---|
Industry | Book and Entertainment Wholesale |
Founded | 1986 |
Headquarters | , |
Revenue | £206 million (2016) [1] |
Number of employees | 709 (2016) [1] |
Parent | The Little Group |
Website |
www |
Gardners’ is an international wholesalers of books, eBooks, music and film. They work with multi-channel retailers worldwide, both online and on the high street, to supply physical and digital products. They offer back to store or direct to consumer on their behalf through a consumer direct fulfilment service.
Gardners are based in a 350,000 square foot facility in Eastbourne in South East England. They offer access to over 500,000 products in stock for same day dispatch, [2] as well as over 1.5 million eBooks available for instant fulfilment.[ citation needed]
As the main book distributor in the UK, most UK bookshops get their book supply from Gardners. [3] [4]
The company was founded in 1986 by Alan Little and still has involvement from other family members Jonathan Little and Andrew Little. [5] [6]
In 2010, it opened Hive.co.uk, a direct retail store that shares profits with nominated independent UK book stores, from which it allows local pickup.
In 2017, Gardners announced an expansion with a increased sized warehouse and 100 more jobs at their headquarters in Eastbourne. The business already employing 800 in the area. [5]
In 2020, with the launch of the UK arm of Bookshop.org, Gardners became a partner in the company, handling all UK distribution for the Bookshop.org, fulfilling orders directly. [7] [8]
In 2020, The Little Group bought out Gardners' rival Bertrams, incorporating it into Gardners which ran from the former Bertrams warehouse. [9]
2023 has seen Gardners expand to opening a U.S. arm to the company, with an aim to grow in that market. [10]