For retailers and suppliers within the home improvements market unsurprisingly there is a positive correlation with the housing market. When sales increase so too does demand for DIY and home improvement products. It stands to reason,... Read entry

If you take all the officially published statistics at face value, it’s as ifthe overall economy is standing still, while we all wait for something to happen, whether that’s elections here and across the pond, Brexit, or the... Read entry

The Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative has just come into effect. It is designed to be a cost and time-saving exercise both for the Exchequer and the independent hardware retailer that must comply. Almost three million businesses,... Read entry

Okay so a headline with Brexit in it doesn't exactly fill everyone with joy. I'm not actually talking about Brexit itself or any of the political stances surrounding it. As the CEO of a benevolent charity, I have the 'simple' task of... Read entry

Where have all my customers gone, why is my business not moving forward? Maybe if I just wait here, sit it out, they are sure to come back? How many times do we see this approach in retail these days whether it is a large retailer with strong... Read entry

Since it arrived from the States all the way back in 2015, Black Friday has become one of the biggest dates in the UK DIY retail calendar. When B&Q announced earlier this year that they’re intending to sit out Black Friday 2018 the reaction was... Read entry

Friday, November 23 is Black Friday: a tradition that has drifted over from the United States, when people head out en masse after Thanksgiving to bargain-hunt. The media attention this attracts has also led to a boost in shopping in... Read entry

As some retailers struggle with merchandising hardware effectively and in an impactful way in store, there is a need to consider the wider retail strategy in order to make these ‘bread and butter’ items jump out at the customer. The nuts ... Read entry

Technology and digital have had a profound effect on businesses of all shapes, sizes and sectors; yet retail has been one of the hardest hit. The likes of click and collect, e-commerce and rapid home deliveries have all boosted convenience... Read entry

Customer service used to be about answering telephones and responding to written requests, but our fast paced, social media driven society has put this function firmly in the spotlight.  Consumers now post on a variety of social media platforms about anything from a positive experience with a product to an issue with an item being out of stock. 

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