Snowdrop lands in the West Midlands following three Hearing and Mobility store takeovers
Following Hearing Health and Mobility’s appointment of administrators earlier in the month, Snowdrop Independent Living has confirmed it has acquired three of the defunct retailer’s branches in the West Midlands.
Founded in 1999 by Peter O’Shea, Snowdrop retails an extensive range of mobility products, having developed organically from a single showroom in Pembrokeshire before growing to cover all areas of South Wales.
Snapping up Hearing and Mobility’s Brierley Hill, Wolverhampton and Hall Green branches in the West Midlands, the established retailer has added 10 new Snowdrop staff members to the company, saving the jobs of Hearing and Mobility’s dedicated and experienced team.
”When the opportunity to acquire the stores arose, we met with the all of the existing staff and were very impressed that they shared the Snowdrop values of enthusiasm, product knowledge and a desire to do the right thing by our customers,” commented Kevin Bounds, Chairman of Snowdrop Independent Living.
“This convinced us that this was an opportunity well worth pursuing and that they were solid foundations in place for us to grow and develop the business further.”
The acquisitions come after Snowdrop Independent Living acquired its first Hearing and Mobility store in December 2019, taking over the company’s Cardiff branch.
In February 2020, it was revealed that Hearing Health and Mobility, the retail arm of DHAIS, had called in administrators after 12 years of phenomenally rapid growth and a steady decline.
Seeing an opportunity to gain a foothold in England and expand outside of Wales, Snowdrop Independent Living’s takeovers come in the wake of its MBO in April, supported with a £500,000 equity investment by the Development Bank of Wales.
Snowdrop Independent Living was the second mobility retailer that the Development Bank of Wales had invested in, having co-invested £3.8 million in Middletons to help the company achieve its ambitious growth plans in 2018.
After the MBO, Snowdrop’s management team promised it would grow the business with more showrooms.
Entering England for the first time, Snowdrop Independent Living’s new stores further add to the increasingly competitive West Midlands’ mobility retail landscape as established players including Middletons, Ableworld, Mobility and Lifestyle and Easy Living Mobility continue to invest in expanding their presence in the region.
“We see this as an opportunity to reinvigorate these three branches in the West Midlands and use the experience within Snowdrop along with the local enthusiasm to build a valuable additional asset to our business,” said David Morgan, Managing Director of Snowdrop Independent Living.
Snowdrop Independent Living’s store portfolio now sits at seven.
