Argos boss John Walden, who joined as managing director in February, has drafted in consultants and launched a full review of the catalogue retail chain. 

Following research which revealed 47% of Brits are "put off DIY because they don't know what they're doing," the ICI brand has teamed up with augmented reality platform Aurasma to launch a free demonstration app. 

A Bill to suspend the Sunday Trading Laws, which restrict opening hours to six continuous hours between 10am and 6pm, received Royal Assent in government this week, meaning all shops with relevant floor space over 280 sq m (3,000sq ft) can open longer during the London Olympics. 

While many retailers are looking for a boost in sales from the upcoming London Olympics, a garden centre in Kent is expecting its turnover to take a hammering. 

Garden centre and horticultural industry staff are being urged to start limbering up for a fundraising event being held at the Garden Centre Association's (GCA) annual conference in 2013. 

Pritesh Pancholi of Melton Ironmongers in Leicester has named BHF Young Retailer of the Year for 2012. 

The group is in discussions with potential purchasers interested in the online garden shop and is hoping to complete a deal by the end of June. 

Kitchen Kapers director Caroline Gordon was elected president of the British Independent Retailers Association at the AGM on April 24. 

The balance of sales volumes for DIY and hardware retailers has dipped to -45% after holding steady in March, according to the latest distributive trades survey by the CBI. 

With first store Mainlys of Devizes Mica having gone from conception during a conversation at the 2010 Totally DIY show to winning the 2011 Silver Hardware Retailer of the Year DIY Week Award, owners Colin and Clare Henrich decided the time was ripe to open a second store. 

Employment opportunities in non-food stores rose for the first time in almost a year, according to the latest figures produced by the British Retail Consortium. 

In a recent DIYWeek.net poll, 74% of respondents said they thought the hosepipe ban would negatively impact garden centre trade, but according to the latest results from the Garden Centre Association, like-for-like sales were up 11.5% during March. 

A number of DIY retailers and builders merchants across an area of London received calls from a Howdens depot this week, telling them their accounts with the joinery supplier were being closed forthwith because they "did not want anyone re-selling our doors." 

Sheffield-based electrical goods wholesaler and national distributor Inman & Co has been closed down after going into administration. 

The latest preliminary estimate from the Office of National Statistics shows the country is technically in a double-dip recession, with the GDP having contracted by 0.2% in Q1 following a 0.3% shrinkage in Q4 2011, but sector insight shows positive growth in the retail sector. 

The Garden Store Group has taken over the Burford Garden Company's 10-hectare garden centre located at Burford House in Tenbury, Wiltshire. 

The bulky and "sometimes hazardous" nature of DIY products ramps up home delivery costs and means online orders have seen only limited growth in recent years, according to a new sector insight report into DIY retailing. 

The home and hardware chain has refuted claims in the press that restaurant and health club owner R Capital is among the four or five potential buyers currently caught up in a bidding war over the retailer. 

The carpet and floor coverings retailer announced group sales had dropped by 4.2% in the 11 weeks to April 14, 2012, with total sales across Europe decreasing by 4.7%, a LfL drop of 4.4%. 

Staff at Rolawn took part in a range of fundraising activities - from a sponsored slim to a 70mile bike ride - and put on discounts for their online customers to raise money as part of their Garden Re-Leaf Day effort.