A special ribbon cutting event was held at Notcutts Garden Centre in Maidstone to celebrate the opening of a new display garden, designed to inspire local gardeners with imaginative planting and landscaping ideas all year round. Caroline Notcutt, ...

British value home and garden retailer, wilko, will open the doors to its newly relocated store at Tameside One, Ashton-under-Lyne on 10 July at 9am, the company confirms, as well as announcing it has signed a lease for a new store at The Oaks ...

After failing to secure a buyer, Bathstore, the UK’s biggest bathroom specialist, has collapsed into administration putting over 500 jobs at risk. The company has appointed the business services firm BDO as administrators, who said the retailer ...

Wyevale Garden Centres has announced that Podington Garden Centre has been sold to Cherry Lane Garden Centre. The sale is expected to complete by the middle of August, with WGC continuing to operate the centre until this date. Cherry Lane Garden ...

The carpet and floorcoverings retailer, Carpetright, has announced its "business turnaround [is] on track with an encouraging return to positive like-for-like sales growth" in its full year results, following the group’s restructuring last year ...

According to recent research conducted by property specialists FastSaleHomes.co.uk, smart home devices/appliances which can be remotely managed and monitored over Wi-Fi by smartphones and tablets, have revolutionised the way people live. ...

Owner of Mill Race garden centre, Swallow Aquatics has announced it plans to sell the centre, as it takes away from its speciality in aquatics. The centre is located in Aldham, Colchester and is one of the largest garden centres in Essex. Managing ...

Wildlife experts who work to save the UK’s dwindling swift population are concerned at the late arrival of these birds, which nest here after spending the winter in Africa. Many swifts have arrived up to two weeks late, and the RSPB has received ...

Neil Fedden, owner and managing consultant at Hampshire-based Lean business specialists, Fedden USP, will be leading three new Strategic SmartHort Centres that are being set-up by the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).The three ...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Dyson that a claim made by Vax that its blade cordless 24v vacuum cleaner is “as powerful as a corded vacuum” was misleading and could not be substantiated.The claim appeared in a ...

Wyevale Garden Centres today announces the sale of 11 garden centres in four separate transactions to British Garden Centres, The Plant Area Limited (t/a Clandon Park Garden Centre), Coolings Garden Centres and Maidenhead Aquatics.British Garden ...

Total sales were up 3.8% last week compared with last year, with home, gift, and large electricals providing a significant boost.Overall, home sales were up 4%, with gifts, cook and dine sales up 3.2%.  Within this, gift sales were up 17%, driven by ...

The 15-strong independent builders merchant has taken over Sussex Turnery and Moulding Company Limited (Stamco) in a deal that accelerates the firm’s growth strategy and takes its new combined turnover to £100million.The acquisition was supported by ...

Lidl has announced it plans to expand in London, with a new HQ as well as a new store in the heart of city, with a £500m investment plan. The investment is planned for the next five years and will help the retailer expand across the capital. Adding ...

John Lewis customers can now return their purchases to Waitrose delivery drivers at the same time as they receive their groceries. The service means shoppers can return clothing and home purchases without leaving the comfort of their own home....

A Caulder & Co Limited, the owner of Caulders Garden Centres, has made two fresh acquisitions with financial backing from Clydesdale Bank. The company has acquired Dobbies Garden Centres in Kinross and Cumbernauld, growing its portfolio of ...

The independent garden centre group, which bought Studley Green from Hillview last September, has now taken on Wyevale’s Sherfield on the Loddon centre, taking its estate to five centres.The garden centre, just north of Basingstoke off the A33, was ...

The paint brand will officially open the doors to its latest Academy at Leeds College of Building on Monday, June 17.Located at the UK’s only dedicated building college, the new Academy site is part of a national drive by Dulux Academy to upskill 10,...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint by a consumer who had rushed to make a purchase before a sale ended, only to see the price drop further. The ad watchdog said future ads must make the base of savings clear, so as not to ...

Kingfisher confirms the remaining Shepton Mallett branch has now reverted to a Screwfix, as the business moves away from its trial of the dedicated DIY store format.The 5,000sq ft DIY Express store in Shepton Mallett opened on Haskins Retail Estate ...

The online giant and supermarket chain will roll the ‘Morrisons at Amazon’ store on Prime Now service out to more cities across the UK, including Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth.The same-day online grocery home delivery ...

A meeting of the Nursery Working Group on June 6 demonstrated the substantial progress made by the industry towards the adoption of kerbside recyclable non-black plant pots.Growers attending the meeting reported that they have all moved away from ...

Despite major high street names being caught out on test purchases recently, new data suggests retailers are stepping up action to keep knives out of the hands of underage shoppers, with audit pass rates jumping from to 82% in 2018. However, online ...

House of Fraser and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has submitted a legal challenge to Debenhams’ company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which was approved by the department store’s creditors last month.However, Debenham’s new owners’ say the claims...

For the first time Toolstation has added boilers into its central heating range and will offer a complete range from Vokèra by Riello.Toolstation will carry three different combi boilers and two system boilers, along with flue kits and accessories, ...

The tile chain took home the accolade for Excellence in Retail at the annual awards ceremony, in “recognition of its efforts to improve tile retailing”, says the TTA.Detailing the reason for N&C’s win, the TTA explained that the retailer’s brand ...

As part of its strategy to expand beyond shops and online into new and enhanced services, John Lewis & Partners has announced plans to expand its offering, so it now not only furnishes homes but also extends and renovates them. John Lewis already ...

The building products manufacturer and distributor has celebrated the opening of a new, dedicated paint store in Edmonton, North London.The branch will trade under ‘The Paint Centre by N&C’ and offers painting and decorating solutions for both ...

The latest figures from the BRC and Springboard reveal that the UK experienced its worst footfall in six years last month, with declines across all regions and retail locations, as colder weather and ongoing political uncertainty “made consumers ...

The UK wholesaler has “taken positive steps” to combat issues in tile supply chain and revealed details of 14 new designs and collections recently added to its product range.The new tile ranges include classic designs, as well as modern, plain and ...

A “game-changing” online platform, which works to bring retail buyers and suppliers together and counts John Lewis, Tesco and TK Maxx amongst its customers, has secured a six-figure investment.Glasgow-based start-up firm, Product Guru is described ...

Following its recent acquisitions of Capitol Tiles and Walls & Floors, Tile Mountain - now the UK’s largest privately-owned tile retailer – has invested in digitalising its new wholesale arm and is still working to open new UK showrooms that ...

The department store chain will trial a new virtual reality experience to enable customers to visualise new products in their homes before they buyThe new retail experience, dubbed ‘Visualise Your Space’ is designed to help customers determine what ...

In light of greater trade tariffs imposed by countries like China and the USA, Deloitte chief economist discusses why protectionism is so harmful to the global economy and the damage it is doing to world growth.The seventh Global DIY Summit kicked ...

The home improvement retailer has been ordered to withdraw a misleading ad promoting savings on a kitchen range after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a number of complaints, including challenges raised by product tester and ...

Recent research revealed the growing number of homeowners installing smart home devices to deter invaders, with smart surveillance cameras the most popular purchase, although nearly half of those surveyed worry an over-the-top show of technology ...

The department store chain’s total sales were down again this past week, with a 3.5% slump due to a combined impact of warm weather and annualising price-matching competitor activity.Home sales were down 1.4% on last year. However furniture and ...

The home and garden retailer will close its existing store in the Arcade Shopping Centre later this month and re-open a new site in the Tameside One development less than a mile away.The 7,000sq ft Tameside development has been built to provide a ...

Following the opening of five new stores last month, discount chain B&M has also officially re-opened its Wallsend store in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne after work to expand the site and create “a bigger, better store” has now been completed.The B&M ...

Hot on the heels of the interest in children’s gardening at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show many garden centres, schools, families, communities and organisations, and of course children, celebrated the joy of gardening and outdoor activities ...

Retail statistics covering the four weeks 28 April – 25 May 2019 from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the KPMG retail sales monitor show that on a total basis, sales decreased by 2.7% in May. Excluding Easter distortions, this is the worst ...

The Summer Outdoor Leisure Exhibition which will be opening its doors to buyers from within the garden industry on 9 July 2019, has launched its very own website to help visitors to register and attend the event.This new website has an interactive ...

Our homes make one of the biggest contributions to our overall happiness and wellbeing, according to new research from Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, and the Happiness Research Institute, the independent think tank focusing on well-being, ...

Retail sales in the year to May fell at the fastest pace since October 2017, as tough trading and Brexit uncertainty result in retail investment intentions seeing a sharp decline in recent months to hit record low, according to the latest quarterly ...

Garden centre sales are 27% up based on the calendar year to April 2019 vs 2018, according to the May 2019 issue of HTA Market Update published this week.In April, sales of plant and garden ranges continued to fare well, experiencing significant ...

Somerset-based tool supplier Toolstream has celebrated turning 10 years old.The company hosted an action-packed day a couple of weeks ago with masses of activities. A pallet wood building competition took centre stage, with entrants re-using timber ...

Online shopping giant Amazon has announced it plans to open 10 pop up shops in various UK town centre locations. The exact towns have not been announced however there will be openings in Wales, Scotland, The Midlands, Yorkshire and the South East of ...