Gift Library acquires The Wedding Shop
Luxury online gift retailer Gift Library has acquired wedding list business The Wedding Shop as part of plans to transform itself into a global multi-channel retail company.
Founded in 1990, The Wedding Shop has a store on London’s Fulham Road as well as a transactional website and concessions in Selfridges in London and the Brown Thomas department store in Dublin.
Gift Library chief executive Caroline Stanbury said: “The acquisition of The Wedding Shop makes us a major player in the single biggest gift market in the UK and worldwide. The Wedding Shop’s superlative wedding list software will be embedded into the new Gift Library website currently under construction. In future, people using The Wedding Shop, or its wedding list service, will have access to all the products available from Gift Library as well as the huge selection already offered by The Wedding Shop. I plan to add more variety and more inspiring products to create the most exciting wedding list world for our couples.”
“In addition, we plan to ring fence all money spent on our wedding lists by placing it safely into an escrow account thereby making us the safest possible way to buy a wedding present.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Founded by Stanbury in 2008, Gift Library has Artemis Funds as a majority investor. Guy Channon, majority shareholder in The Wedding Shop, iwill remain with the company in the role of non-executive director following the acquisition.
Karen Pocock, founder of The Wedding Shop, said: “I am proud that the acquisition of The Wedding Shop has created an unparalleled platform for The Gift Library to become a leading player in the premium gift market and have global presence.”
Pocock will now focus on her international interior styling business Design By Appointment.
