It began in a bedroom in Essex. Today Maplin can be seen on most high streets and retail parks across the UK and Ireland. One thing has not changed: the company really knows its customers.

Finding electronic components wasn't easy in 1972. Many companies advertised items but most were government or industrial surplus and although cheap, were often inconsistent in their quality and availability.

As electronics enthusiasts themselves, Roger Allen and Doug Simmons were well aware of the failings of existing suppliers. "There were plenty of catalogues, but you didn't necessarily get what was in them." said Roger. "We thought there must be lots of people like us - people trying to produce professional equipment or hobbyists looking for a reliable source of quality components." Joined by Roger's wife, Sandra, and using a bedroom in the Allen's home in Rayleigh, Essex , they set up Maplin Electronic Supplies.

Roger and Sandra Allen and Doug Simmons start up Maplin Electronic Supplies as a mail order business

The first Maplin shop opens in Westcliff on Sea, Essex

Sales receive a big boost after Maplin is invited to take prime advertising space in IPC electronics magazines

A second shop is opened in Hammersmith, London

The Maplin catalogue is printed in colour for the first time.

Electronics - The Maplin Magazine launched

Maplin Professional Supplies (MPS) created to service the expanding business market

The National Distribution Centre opens at Wombwell, South Yorkshire

Far East headquarters are established in Taiwan

Maplin is acquired by Saltire PLC

The first Maplin Superstore is opened in Leeds

Maplin Electronics launches its catalogue CD Rom

The launch of the fully interactive internet site including an online catalogue and live ordering facility

The company moves back to one annual catalogue. Opens first store in the Republic of Ireland

The internet site quickly breaks the £1m sales barrier

The facility in Southend is closed and operations consolidated in Barnsley

Company went through an MBO backed by Graphite capital

Celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the business

Thirteen new stores opened during the year

Maplin now has more than 81 stores in the UK and 1400 staff

Went through a secondary MBO backed by Montagu

Ten new stores opened during the year. Maplin celebrated its 100th store opening in Livingston

Total number of stores comes to 170 including five stores in the Republic of Ireland

Employs over 1700 staff nationwide

Ten new concept stores opened in the last six months of the year, totalling thirteen stores for the year

Maplin becomes proud sponsor of the UK snooker championship in 3-year deal

Begin the move to state of the art distribution site in near Rotherham. Phase one commences with the warehousing operation. Our retail stores are boosted with the addition of a further 26 stores

Relocation to our new distribution centre now complete as staff move into their new offices, including Contact Centre facilities. A further 16 stores opened this year which takes the total number of retail outlets above the 150 mark

Maplin printed its first 28-page catalogue, took a small advertisement in an electronics magazine and waited for the phone to ring. "We were the only people at the time to say phone us and we'll send you a free catalogue." Roger recalled. "We thought we'd have to get extra phone lines in to cope with the demand, but in the first week we had about ten calls. We thought that if we offered the lowest prices, the fastest service and a catalogue which actually delivered what it promised, we would be an instant success. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that wasn't the case. We found out that it was a long time before people gave us a try."

Nevertheless, word began to spread, and while Roger and Doug remained in their full-time jobs for another year, and the company didn't make a profit, Maplin gradually built up its business and reputation. Maplin realised that, in addition to products, customers wanted technical information, so the second catalogue contained much more detail. By 1975, the 28 pages had become 216 and contained complete projects.

The business was growing on its unique reputation for offering first grade electronic components which could be delivered exactly as shown in the catalogue - and all by first class mail. Within two years, a second demand had become apparent - a place where hobbyists could go to buy their components - and Maplin opened its first shop in Westcliff. The mail order business moved in upstairs.

The first major breakthrough came in 1975, when IPC Magazines, alarmed at the number of complaints against some of their existing advertisers, offered Maplin the prime advertising position in their electronics journals. Sales received an immediate boost and Maplin's reputation for reliability, price and quality soared.

A further breakthrough came in 1978 with the first catalogue to feature, and an expanded product range and more technical data and information than ever before. Maplin had to double its staff to cope with the demand. Successive catalogues introduced major innovations. The first laser available to the amateur and, in 1981, the first home computer. That year also saw the launch of a new magazine for enthusiasts, Electronics. MPS, then Maplin Professional Supplies, was created in 1985 to service the expanding professional market, with a catalogue of products selected specifically for professionals and the business market.

For the next decade, the business continued to grow but Maplin was in danger of becoming a victim of its own success. "By 1994 we were turning over £29 million a year." said Roger Allen. "The rate of growth we needed to maintain wasn't going to be possible without us teaming up with someone else. We didn't think we could stretch the company to accommodate the rate at which we needed to grow to remain a credible supplier. Other people were getting together to form bigger and bigger organisations and we felt we could get left behind.

"We looked around for someone who wasn't just going to swallow us up but had some electronic presence which didn't conflict with ours. Saltire fitted the bill perfectly. Maplin was acquired by Saltire in late 1994, and less than a year later opened the first of a new generation of retail outlets, the Maplin Superstore in Leeds.

The business continues to grow, with an extensive product range of over 12,000 products available from the catalogue, website and store network. Maplin introduces hundreds of new and innovative products every month and prides itself on a unique product offer supported by excellent service.

Maplin launched its transactional website in 1999; unique at the time. Not only did it provide access to all the products in the business, it also checked stock availability and reserved items for customers in real-time. The site had to live up to customers’ expectations from day one, which meant it had to engineer more features

The site very quickly received over one million hits per month and is now regularly used by thousands of customers. By 2006, Maplin had over 170,000 visitors to its web site every day and is regularly placed in the top ten UK ranking for shopping and classified sites in the ‘Shopping Appliances and Electronics’ category.

As we move into the end of 2008, our goal is to continue to improve on the website features. We have already introduced a new look and are working hard to improve upon the whole shopping experience, to ensure customers are presented with a smooth as a selection and checkout process as possible.

We are also looking to add more features to the website with more helpful guides and Knowledge Centre, expanding upon our maplinTV range of videos and create more of our popular ministores. So www.maplin.co.uk continues to be more than just about the product, it's about the people who use it and is driven by what customers demand.

Understanding that successful businesses constantly evolve, Maplin worked close with retail consultants to develop a more effective store layout. The key objective was to make a more pleasant store environment where

The new store was divided into ‘worlds’: Communication, Components, Sat Nav, Home & Car, Music, Power, Tools, TV & Satellite and Computing.

Results have shown that customer feedback is extremely positive, with shoppers being able to find what they want far easier in a more customer-friendly layout.

The business continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with company sales reaching £179m in 2007 and look to break the £200m barrier this year. Maplin continues to expand its operation in the Far East and is constantly looking to find new, interesting and innovative products for its customers. Dr Keith Pacey (CEO) comments "I am extremely pleased that we have continued to grow as a successful retailer in a complex and difficult market. I know that the team are really looking forward to the next chapter in this business’s development".

Maplin Electronics moved to a 200,000 square feet, state-of-the-art distribution centre in Manvers (two miles from Wombwell) that will accommodate the next ten years’ growth.

12 further store openings are planned for 2010 as well as substantial modernisation of the existing network.

The business has a medium term goal of 250 retail stores throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland.