The story
The company was founded in 1986 by Alan Little and still has involvement from other family members Jonathan Little and Andrew Little.
In 2010, it opened Hive.co.uk, a direct retail store that shares profits with nominated independent UK book stores, from which it allows local pickup.
In 2017, Gardners announced an expansion with an increased sized warehouse and 100 more jobs at their headquarters in Eastbourne. The business already employing 800 in the area.
In 2020, with the launch of the UK arm of Bookshop.org, Gardners became a partner in the company, handling all UK distribution for the Bookshop.org, fulfilling orders directly.
In 2020, The Little Group bought out Gardners' rival Bertrams, incorporating it into Gardners which ran from the former Bertrams warehouse.
2023 has seen Gardners expand to opening a U.S. arm to the company, with an aim to grow in that market.
From Wikipedia’s article on Gardners Books, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4