The recent cold and wet snap put customers "in the right mood for shopping" at John Lewis last week. The retailer posted sales up 26.5% on the same week last year, which, incidentally, saw the country engulfed in an unseasonable heat wave. 

Online plumbing and heating retailer PlumbNation has smashed the £14million sales mark for the year 2011/2012, a yearly increase of more than 20%. 

The next Meet the Buyer Day organised by the British Home Enhancement Trade Association will allow members of the organisation to go head-to-head with buyers from John Lewis. 

The closing date for entries to the DIY Week Awards is tomorrow - enter now to get your stand-out retail business or products noticed. 

The 129-strong Garden Centre Group has posted results showing a profit dip for the year to December 25, 2011, but an upbeat picture of H1 2012. 

Following criticism at the reduced size of Glee 2012, the Garden Centre Association (GCA) executive committee has spoken up in the trade show's defence. 

Jacques Home Hardware - named for the four Jacques family members who run it - is the fresh new identity marking a new era for the Market Rasen hardware store. 

The Garden Centre Group has helped raise £21,143 for Macmillan Cancer Support by taking part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning. 

Since moving to 50,000 sq ft new premises in Basildon, Ironmongery Direct has taken on an influx of new recruits, including the recent appointment of Karla Matthew as HR and payroll co-ordinator. 

The electrical products distributor Hardman Isherwood has gone into administration, along with its parent HI Group and a number of the group's other subsidiaries. 

B&M, the hugely-successful Liverpool-based discount retailer, has been put up for sale. 

Iain Wylie, previously MD of Grosvenor Garden Centre, has taken on the position of interim chief executive of the Garden Centre Association. 

A tool kit and a ceiling fan are amongst the latest dangerous products to have been withdrawn or recalled from the market. 

Enabling "prudent mortgage lending" to first time buyers (FTBs) will help reverse declining sales in DIY, gardening, homewares, furniture and floor coverings that accounted for £34bn in sales last year, according to the BRC and Genworth analysts. 

The newest chairman of the British Retail Consortium started his new job on Monday, October 1. B&Q boss Ian Cheshire succeeds Rob Templeman, who will be staying on as deputy for another year. 

DIY giant received The Queen's Award this week for its work creating a sustainable business and helping people improve the sustainability of their homes. 

Online luxury bathroom retailer Victoria Plumb will be hitting TV screens next week with its first television advertising campaign. 

More than 50 representatives of bricks and roof tiles manufacturer Wienerberger UK, recently took on a massive challenge on Holy Island, Angelsey, to raise more than £3,000 for CLIC Sargent. 

Velcro Industries has launched an overhaul of its global brand identity, including a new logo, brand architecture, website, packaging system and brand positioning. 

Solus Garden & Leisure was delighted to be named Greatest Supplier at the recent Greatest Awards held at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.