Norton Group Holdings

Norton Group Holdings Limited is a British holding company of home improvement retailers including The Range and Wilko, as well as a concession partnership with the Iceland supermarket chain. It is owned by Chris Dawson.

History
In 1980, Chris Dawson began as an open-air market trader in Plymouth, later opening a retail store on Sugar Mill Business Park in 1989. Initially trading as Chris Dawson Superstores (CDS), the name would later change to The Range in the early 1990s. The Range would then later grow into a major retailer across the United Kingdom, with Norton Group Holdings becoming the ultimate owning company.

In September 2023, the company acquired the brand and digital assets of discount retailer Wilko for £5,000,000 after Wilko's parent company collapsed into administration a month earlier. In October 2023, Norton Group Holdings said that the company would open 5 new stand-alone Wilko stores “before Christmas". This came just under 3 weeks after the collapsed retailer ceased operations. This would include a store in both Plymouth and Exeter, two in the southeast, and one in the north. By 29 March 2024, Wilko stores had opened in Plymouth, Exeter, Luton, St Albans, and Rotherham, with an additional store planned to open in Poole at an unconfirmed date.

In July 2024, it was reported that Norton Group Holdings was exploring a takeover deal of DIY chain Homebase from Hilco Capital.