School business managers’ educational resources supplier gls reveals major rebrand

January 2022

School business managers’ educational resources supplier gls has undergone a major rebrand to enable the further expansion of its product and service offer for educators and schools.

At the same time, Findel, the owner of gls, has announced it will be actively expanding gls’s product ranges and service offer during 2022.

Findel’s origins as an educational resources supplier can be traced back to 1817. Today, its brands and websites offer more than 32,000 products to educators and parents based in the UK and overseas with the business exporting to 130 countries.

Headquartered in Hyde, Greater Manchester, the company also has a distribution centre and offices in Nottingham and employs around 300 people.

Findel was acquired in April last year from Studio Retail Group plc following a management buy-out (MBO) supported by private equity firm Endless. Findel has also announced a corporate rebrand of its own and will be actively expanding its service offer during 2022 through new initiatives and acquisitions of complementary education sector businesses.

Chris Mahady, Findel’s chief executive, said: “Since the MBO, independent ownership has allowed us to shape the business as we want and begin to realise its full potential.

“The rebrand project is a critical element of achieving that goal and it heralds a bright new dawn for Findel and gls. This was not simply about refreshing some logos, it was about undertaking a thorough strategic review of Findel and gls over a six-month period.

“We now have a new strategy, vision and direction that will drive us towards becoming a highly successful, multi-faceted, national and international education resources business and a trusted and valued partner to our customers.

A brand specifically created for school business managers, gls understands how its customers work, what they need and why it matters. Whether it is future planning or restocking, the gls team’s in-depth knowledge makes things easy for school business managers.

With a huge range in one place, great service and good value a given, with gls it’s sorted. This service is distilled by gls’s new brand positioning line of ‘Schools. We get you.’

Chris continued: “What we have done has energised and inspired everyone at the company. Colleagues now fully understand our business and brands and, most importantly, what they mean to our gls customers. It has given us collective purpose, clarity and strength about who we are and what we do.

“This will play a huge role in the delivery of our expansion plans for Hope and gls as we launch new initiatives, products and services to achieve our ambitious growth plans for the benefit of educators worldwide.”

For more information visit www.glsed.co.uk