Essential reading for retailers and suppliers in the home improvement market

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Dobbies sets ambitious £50k target for new charity partner

The garden centre chain has chosen CLIC Sargent, the leading cancer charity for children and young people, as its Christmas charity partner this year - and has pledged to raise £50,000 by Christmas Eve. 
5 September 2012

Study shows no improvement in empty shop blight

There are no signs that the scourge of vacant shops mouldering on Britain's high streets is about to go away, new figures have revealed. 
5 September 2012

Garden centre business boosts Churchill China

A growing focus on supplying outlets such as garden centres helped Stoke-on-Trent pottery maker Churchill China raise half-year profits by 22%. 
5 September 2012

Irresponsible iron ad showed woman steaming her hand

A TV advertisement for an iron that showed a woman deliberately spraying steam onto her hand was irresponsible, the ad watchdog has ruled. 
4 September 2012

B&Q's kitchens feature on ITV's This Morning

B&Q has announced a two-year agreement with ITV which will see a brand new kitchen feature on the set of the channel's flagship daytime programme, This Morning, from this week onwards. 
4 September 2012

Wickes puts its boss in a box

A four by four feet glass box, suspended 20 ft over a car park in Aylesbury was where a director from Wickes spent a gruelling 34 hours of his bank holiday weekend last week. 
3 September 2012

Indies flock to Autumn Fair's first day

Autumn Fair International 2012 got under way yesterday, and, as is usual for the show's Sunday, saw an influx of independents. 
3 September 2012

Hay fever drives boom in sales of fake flowers

Sales of artificial flowers are enjoying a significant uplift on the back of the longest hay fever season experienced in two decades. 
3 September 2012

Flying Brands reports £1.1m losses as board members fly the coop

The former gardening home shopping retailer has posted financial results for the 26 weeks ending June 29, 2012, rounding off a half year which saw much of the group's operations sold. 
3 September 2012

Liquidation for landscaping firm with skilled staff shortage

A lack of skilled workers has helped put one of Scotland's leading independent landscaping businesses into liquidation. 
3 September 2012

Over £2.2bn spent on DIY tools that aren't used

Almost half of Britons admit to buying DIY tools that hardly ever emerge from the toolbox, a new study has found. 
3 September 2012

Gardman signs McLoughlins as Ireland distributor

Gardman has appointed McLoughlins as its distributor in the Republic of Ireland. 
3 September 2012

New kitchen comparison site compares B&Q, Homebase and Wickes

The Insight Retail Group has launched kitchen-compare.com to help enable consumers to better navigate the different kitchen-buying options from the country's largest home improvement retailers. 
31 August 2012

B&Q gets a student makeover

Students from Solent University recently got the chance to design four new looks to celebrate the launch of B&Q's new homes range as part of a décor competition. 
31 August 2012

DIY stores see 10% uptake in card turnover

New figures have revealed that card turnover at UK DIY stores was 10% higher in Q2 2012 than the same period last year, despite an 18% drop in card turnover at small businesses in general. 
30 August 2012

Raise rates on parking, says ACS

Councils should look at raising rates on out of town retailers to help high streets, according to the Association of Convenience Stores. 
30 August 2012

New look for Home Hardware Scotland

Home Hardware will unveil its new logo this autumn and rolling out the look to posters, shop fronts and staff uniforms. 
30 August 2012

Woodie's DIY hit by economy and weather

Sales at Grafton Group's retail operations fell 12.4% to €98.2m in the first half of the year. Operating loss at the Irish DIY and kitchens businesses soared from €0.4m to €3.5m. 
30 August 2012

The Range outlet back open hours after blaze

The Southampton retailer was open for business on time last Sunday, a matter of hours after a fire that required two fire engines to extinguish hit the building. 
29 August 2012

Most independent retailers work 50+ hours a week

A local shop report by the Association of Convenience Stores has revealed that small shopkeepers are among the hardest working professionals in Britain, with 60% working more than 50 hours in an average week. 
29 August 2012
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