Essential reading for retailers and suppliers in the home improvement market

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Hanging basket masterclass at Squire’s to best Easter washout

Squire’s Garden Centres are running its very popular “Large Summer Hanging Basket” planting masterclass on Friday May 18 at 10am and 2pm.Hanging baskets can make a real statement in your garden and Squire’s gardening experts will show you how to ... 
26 April 2018

Akzo Nobel completes separation of specialty chemicals

Akzo Nobel N.V. has publushed its results for the first quarter 2018, having successfully completed the dual-track process for the separation of Specialty Chemicals; AkzoNobel to sell Specialty Chemicals to The Carlyle Group and GIC for €10.1 ... 
24 April 2018

Planning application submitted for new Bunnings store in Ashford

Bunnings UK and Ireland (BUKI) has opened three stores in Kent since its acquirement of Homebase in February 2016, with stores in Thanet, Sittingbourne and Folkestone. Despite an unscheduled review of BUKI by parent company Wesfarmers in February, ... 
23 April 2018

Garden centres hope for better weather after Easter washout

Garden centres across the country were affected by the bad weather during the early Easter break (March, 2018) according to the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade (BoT) report.Compared to the same month last year (2017) sales in ... 
20 April 2018

New distribution centre for B&Q in Swindon to create 100 new jobs

Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement company, has signed contracts on a new B&Q distribution centre (DC) in Swindon. The new site will improve efficiencies within the B&Q supply chain, enabling it to maximise product ... 
20 April 2018

March footfall is the steepest year on year fall since 2010 says BRC

Year-on-year, footfall in March decreased by 6%, a substantial decline compared to the positive rate of 1.3% seen for March 2017 and the steepest year on year fall since the end of 2010. The 12-month average is -1.4%.There was no growth in Footfall ... 
17 April 2018

Gardman announces move back to old warehouse after fire at Daventry

Garden products supplier, Gardman, has released a service update reporting it has fully operationalisted its previous site in Kings Lynn following a fire that destroyed the company's new warehouse in Daventry where more than 50 firefighters were ... 
17 April 2018

63% of homeowners admit to not knowing where to start with DIY tasks, says YouGov

A new survey from YouGov, on behalf of John Lewis Home Solutions, has found that the nation's homeowners are turning to tradespeople to carry out even the most basic DIY tasks rather than attempting it themselves. 78% said they would use a trusted ... 
13 April 2018

Carpetright announces it will close 92 stores

Carpetright is today announcing a proposal to address its legacy property issues and reduce the size of its UK property estate and rental cost base by the implementation of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).The directors of the company have ... 
12 April 2018

Fire at Strikes garden centre has "destroyed most of the centre"

A huge fire broke out at Strikes Garden Centre in Stokesley on Friday evening (April 6), causing massive damage to the majority of the centre. Fire crews were called at 21:20 BST on Friday, with eight fire engines and 40 firefighters attending at ... 
9 April 2018

Spring gathering for Independents

The sun shined down on Independent retailers as they came together at Morris Mica in Alcester on Sunday for the first of two Spring Mica Co-operative Meetings.The meetings follow on from well attended visits to two Gold Award winners Halls Mica in ... 
6 April 2018

Gender pay gap in the DIY and Garden industry revealed

Today marks the deadline for businesses to submit a report with their gender pay gap figures, which has since revealed that the average pay gap in the UK is 18.4% in favour of men.The gender pay gap is not the same as having unequal pay, which would ... 
5 April 2018

53% of retailers admit "always on" sales are damaging profits

New research from payments provider Klarna, shows that retailers are under increasing pressure to discount to keep up with competition and rising customer expectations.Discounting is no longer confined to the traditional winter and summer sales, the ... 
5 April 2018

Bunnings Warehouse opens new store in Somerset

Home improvement and garden retailer Bunnings Warehouse officially opened its doors in Frome today (4 April).The new store is 47,000 square feet and offers customers a wide range of global market-leading brands. Other services include everything ... 
4 April 2018

Heavy rain negatively impacted retail footfall for Easter Weekend

According to Springboard, shoppers have still been visiting retail destinations this Easter Weekend, despite rain across much of the UK.While rain impacted the high streets, where footfall was noticeably down (by -9.6% on Friday and by -6.9% on ... 
4 April 2018

Topps Tiles report a 0.6% rise in like-for-like revenue

Tile specialist Topps Tiles Plc, has announced a trading update for the 26 week period ending 31 March 2018. The Board will announce interim results for the period on 22 May 2018.Total revenues for the 26 week period were £109.4 million (2017: £106.... 
4 April 2018

Bunnings' potential plans to exit UK unfold

Bunnings UK and Ireland (BUKI) has reportedly re-thought its $705 million acquisition of Homebase after just two years of its conversion plan as Australian owners, Wesfarmers, look to potentially selling the operation to a UK buyer.The news comes ... 
3 April 2018

BREAKING NEWS: Dunelm introduces DIY offering with Amtech in-store trial

Homeware and furniture retailer, Dunelm Group, has taken the unprecedented step of approaching Amtech, to run a DIY trial in 40 of its stores.Dunelm’s new venture is a game changer for the DIY industry, as the retailer is keen to position itself as ... 
29 March 2018

DIY Week Awards retail finalists announced

Following a successful judging day last week, we can finally reveal the home improvement and garden retailers shortlisted for the 2018 DIY Week Awards.Judges convened on Monday, March 19 week at Toolbank’s new purpose-built site in Wednesbury to ... 
28 March 2018

More supplier finalists revealed

Following news of which innovative products made the shortlist for this year's DIY Week Awards, suppliers in the running for two non-product categories - Digital Investment and Retailer Support Initiative - can now also be revealed. The categories, ... 
28 March 2018
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