Alistair Houghton meets DENVER HEWLETT, head of Glen Dimplex Home Appliances

Glen Dimplex, says Hewlett, specialises in reviving and revitalising well-known brands that already have strong identities in the marketplace. The businesses behind those brands can be transformed without the expense – and high failure rate – of trying to create new household names.

“You can’t develop great brands in two or three months,” he said. “Great brands take years to develop.

“Glen Dimplex has taken advantage of that. When it sees great brands in distress or trouble, it takes them on and creates a good business around them.”

Hewlett says GDHA’s stable and experienced workforce has helped see the company through the changes of recent years and will help it through the current tough market conditions.

“Fifty per cent of people here have 11 years or more service,” he said. “I’ve been to leaving dos for people who have done 49 or 50 years. We’ve got a stable, well-established and experienced team.”

While GDHA may have built itself up through acquisition, Hewlett says no more deals are being lined up in the short term. Instead, he and his team are knuckling down to make sure the company pulls through the credit crunch unscathed.

“We’re focusing on organic growth,” he said. “At this moment, it’s really a time to focus on your own business.

“At this time, I don’t want a lot of distractions. We want to focus on making sure this business works well in these tough times.”

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