Comet is back, and better than ever. Relaunched in 2020, Comet is now an online-only retailer that brings you the very best deals and discounts on everything from home appliances to consumer electronics.
Backed by one of the biggest names in business IT, Comet is on a mission to be your go-to online retailer. Need a new washing machine? Comet’s got you. Searching for a new TV? You’ll find it at Comet. Looking for a laptop? You guessed it, Comet’s got you covered.
We’re Comet, and we’re back to add some sparkle to your shopping…
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For many people the name ‘Comet’ conjures up memories of weekend trips to retail parks or high streets and spending time browsing the latest and greatest appliances, gadgets and electronics.
If you ever needed something for your home - “go to Comet” were the words that would inevitably be uttered. From white goods such as fridges and washing machines, to Walkmans and Hi-Fi systems, Comet was always full of tantalising goodies.
Whatever you wanted or needed, you’d be bound to find it behind that iconic black and orange shop front.
That was until 2012 - when unfortunately, due to the ‘Credit Crunch’ and a mix of other trading conditions - Comet went into administration and over 200 stores soon closed.
This brought to an end a story that had its beginning in 1933 when George Hollingbery established ‘Comet Battery Stores’.
The following decades saw the company rapidly grow, pioneering many retailing innovations along the way. These included the introduction of the UK’s first ‘discount warehouses’, selling products en-masse, typically at prices between 15% and 45% below the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices.
Comet was also a pioneer of the out-of-town retail store, opening the first such store in 1968 in Hull.
By the early 1980s these innovations had paid off considerably, with Comet growing to encompass over 200 brick and mortar stores. Yet, looking back, this marked the peak of the original Comet business.
The disappearance of Comet from the UK retail scene left a significant gap - a gap which was evident in scores of empty shop fronts across the UK.
However, by the time of Comet’s demise in 2012, a new kind of shop front had roared into fashion - the e-commerce website.
Even as early as 2012, e-commerce offered enormous potential - but it was potential for which the Comet of the era was unprepared.
Fast forward to 2020 and a team of investors decided that it was time to revive the much-loved Comet brand and help it fulfil the e-commerce promise of which it is truly capable.
Today, Comet is owned and backed by The Comet Group, which includes Misco Technologies Ltd, one of the UK’s leading IT resellers with a £70m+ turnover.
Misco provides technology, software and solutions to businesses and public sector organisations and has seen rapid and continued growth since the brand was relaunched in 2019.
With over 100 employees across both brands, the team continues to expand to meet the needs and expectations of our customers and to ensure we bring the best products at the best prices across appliances, technology, smart tech and more!
We’ve teamed up with leading brands, including Sony, Samsung, LG, Hisense, Russell Hobbs, Smeg, Tower, and Swan. And, we’re teaming up with more all the time!
We’re Comet - and we’re here to add some sparkle to your shopping…
- 1933 - Comet established as Comet Battery Stores by entrepreneur George Hollingbery.
- 1939 - renamed as Comet Radio Services as the company expanded to provide replacement wireless sets to over 2,500 customers.
- 1968 - Comet opened its first out-of-town retail store and pioneered the ‘discount warehouse’ model of retailing, offering appliances at prices below manufacturers’ recommended retail prices.
- 1969 - a second discount warehouse was opened in Leeds, whilst the company was given the new name of Comet Radiovision Services.
- 1972 - Comet goes public, being listed on the London Stock Exchange and offering shares for public purchase.
- 1973 - Comet goes truly ‘national’, establishing 25 discount warehouses in locations as varied as Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Grimsby, Hull, Jarrow, Leeds, Leicester, London, Norwich, Newport, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Rochdale, Sheffield, Southampton, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland, Wigan and Willenhall.
- 1984 - Comet is purchased by Woolworths (at the time itself owned by Paternoster Stores, the forerunner of Kingfisher, a major multinational retailing group).
- 2010 - Comet reveals its new logo, the logo that’s still used today on this very website!
2012 - facing difficult trading conditions, Comet announced that it was entering administration on 1st November 2012. By the end of December 2012, every Comet store had closed.
- 2020 - eight years following Comet’s closure, the rights to the Comet brand were purchased by the team of investors behind Misco. The Comet brand was officially relaunched with a new online-only e-commerce offering in August 2020.
- 2023 - Comet is back and once again rapidly growing and becoming the ‘go to’ name for the best deals and discounts on home appliances, electronics and more. Partnering with a growing number of top brands, the future is looking bright for Comet…
Comet Electricals Limited (“Comet”) is part of the Comet Group Limited.
Company Number: 11962051
Registered Office: 3-5 Huxley Close, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, NN8 6AB
VAT Number: GB 409575964
