Great Universal Stores (GUS)

History

GUS is a retailer group based in the United Kingdom whose history is more than a century old. Universal Stores was founded in 1900. In 1930, the company changed its name to The Great Universal Stores Limited. Prior to 2001, the company was known as Great Universal Stores. In 2001, the company name was changed to GUS plc. On October 10th, 2006, GUS plc was demerged into two businesses, Experian and Home Retail Group. Trading in shares of the two groups in London Stock Exchange began on October 11th, 2006.

Mission

The mission or strategy of Experian Group is:

Home Retail Group's mission or strategy for achieving sustainable growth is:

• Leverage extensive product portfolio, market leadership ,and purchasing scale.
• Increase market share in targeted large product markets.
• Expand store networks.
• Extend and exploit multi-channel leadership.

Area of Operation

The businesses of GUS are:
Home Retail Group:

• Home and General Merchandise Retailer

Experian:

• Credit Services
• Decision Analytics
• Marketing Solutions
• Interactive

Key Statistics

• GUS holds assets of $13.05 billion.
• GUS made profits of $0.80 billion in 2006.
• GUS operates in more than 60 countries around the world with their main operations in the United Kingdom.
• GUS has 55,076 employees.

Organization

Both Experian and Home Retail Group are governed by their respective:

• Board of Directors
• Senior Management

International Ranking

• GUS ranks 423 in the world according to Forbes Magazine list.
• GUS ranks 487 in Fortune Global 500 list.

Headquarter Address

One Stanhope Gate
London W1K 1AF
United Kingdom
Phone: 44-20-7495-0070
Website URL: www.gusplc.co.uk
Website URL: www.gusplc.co.uk