Kleeneze set for a comeback after brand is bought out of administration
Oldham based Ultimate Products has acquired the rights to the Kleeneze brand from the administrators and says it plans to relaunch the brand.
Founded in 1923, Kleeneze sold household and beauty products online and through a network of self-employed door-to-door sellers across the UK and Ireland. The company employed 69 staff at its head office in Accrington and a further 71 at its warehouse in Heywood.
David Acland and Anthony Collier of FRP Advisory were appointed joint administrators in April. At the time they said Kleeneze had entered administration due to tough trading conditions.
The sale of Kleeneze’s intellectual property has included its trademarks, domain names, websites and social media accounts. Ultimate Products says it now plans to relaunch the Kleeneze brand with a range of laundry and floorcare products for sale into retail and via online channels.
Simon Showman, chief executive of Ultimate Products, said: “We are delighted to be adding such a well-established and highly regarded brand as Kleeneze to our portfolio of British brands. This deal is consistent with our track record of making opportunistic acquisitions of brands and then successfully relaunching them, the most notable example of which was the purchase of Beldray in 2009, which is now our best-performing brand.”
Ian Maycock of Charterfields, which managed the sale of Kleeneze’s intellectual property, added: “Kleeneze was once one of the UK’s most popular homeware brands but unfortunately as a catalogue company, failed to adapt to the changing online retail market. We hope that Ultimate Products can help to revive this much-loved brand.”
