It began in a bedroom in Essex. Today Maplin spans the globe. One thing has not changed: the company really knows its customers.
Finding electronic components wasn't easy in 1972. Many companies advertised items but most were government or industrial surplus and although cheap, were often inconsistent in their quality and availability.

As electronics enthusiasts themselves, Roger Allen and Doug Simmons were well aware of the failings of existing suppliers. "There were plenty of catalogues, but you didn't necessarily get what was in them." said Roger. "We thought there must be lots of people like us - people trying to produce professional equipment or hobbyists looking for a reliable source of quality components."

Joined by Roger's wife, Sandra, and using a bedroom in the Allen's home in Rayleigh, Essex , they set up Maplin Electronic Supplies.

Maplin launched its transactional website in 1999; unique at the time. Not only did it provide access to all the products in the business, it also checked stock availability and reserved items for customers in real-time. The site had to live up TO customers’ expectations from day one, which meant it had to engineer more features

The site very quickly received over one million hits per month and is now regularly used by thousands of customers. By 2006, Maplin had over 170,000 visitors to its web site every day, placing it in the top ten UK ranking for shopping and classified sites in the ‘Shopping Appliances and Electronics’ category.

The business continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with company sales reaching the £150m barrier in 2006; having had an extremely strong Christmas. Maplin continues to expand its operation in the Far East and is constantly looking to find new, interesting and innovative products for its customers.