DECEMBER
and is headed up by commercial director Adrian Storr who brings 15 years of retail experience including almost a decade with MFI. The product offer includes
sofas and chairs, tables, mirrors, sideboards, bookcases, dining tables and chairs, home office furniture, wardrobes, dressing tables, display cabinets, chests of drawers, bathroom suites and fittings, and kids’ furniture. As this issue went to print,
the news was announced that Walker Capital has also purchased defunct retailer Focus DIY for a reported £300,000, a deal which it is thought includes Focus DIY’s intellectual property assets and some internet domain names.
B&Q profits up 20 per cent
products reflecting a continued squeeze on spending in other areas. TradePoint, the retailer’s
trade initiative which offers more than 12,000 products to trade professionals at discounted prices, has continued to grow and now boasts in excess of 700,000 registered customers. B&Q’s success has helped
Kingfisher, the parent company of DIY retailer B&Q announced that profit at the UK and Ireland business grew by 20.6 per cent over the third quarter of its financial year. Profits were up to £46m,
with total sales growth at 0.4 per cent but down 0.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The closure of Focus DIY led to additional sales for B&Q and seasonal products were particularly popular, with the warm autumn weather helping boost sales of garden furniture by 68 per cent. This helped make up for a drop of 4 per cent in sales of non-seasonal
contribute to the Kingfisher Group’s total sales growth of 3.5 per cent, hitting £2,814m representing +1.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis; group retail profit rose by 13 per cent. Kingfisher chief executive
Ian Cheshire (pictured) commented on the figures: "Our well-established programme of self-help initiatives has continued to drive our growth despite these difficult times for European consumers. I am pleased that our teams' hard work has resulted in healthy sales growth and a 13 per cent profit growth in our third quarter.”
BRC report emphasises importance of garden centres
training for retailers and growers, effective government lobbying and building excellent relationships with members and partners.”
The British Retail Consortium has released a report highlighting the importance of garden centres to their local communities. The “Retail in Society: Serving our Communities” report was launched at a parliamentary reception in November and outlines the various important roles that retailers play in binding their local societies, with garden centres being noted in particular for their close involvement with the communities they are part of. The report follows Lord Wei’s
recent visit to Scotsdales Garden Centre near Cambridge, where he was inspired by the centre’s charitable work and by the community initiatives within the industry as a whole. Such schemes are widespread within the market, with a recent HTA survey revealing that almost 70
per cent of garden retailers engage in charity fundraising, 75 per cent participate in or promote community events and 67 per cent support school gardening schemes. In addition to the
philanthropic elements, garden centres also provide an important support to local economies as employers and outlets for local producers. Download a copy of the report
from Gary Scroby, policy manager at HTA commented: “We are delighted that the garden industry has been acknowledged in the BRC report. Gardening is a popular hobby for one third of the UK population and brings communities together through gardening clubs, allotments, parks and green spaces. Download the report at
http://www.brc.org.uk/download s/serving_our_communities.pdf
dates January 2012
15-17 JANUARY Home
http://home-london.net/ LONDON, EARLS COURT This new show is being launched alongside Top Drawer in 2012. Focusing on interior accessories, it will feature products such as small occasional furniture, lighting, accessories for the kitchen and bathroom, and tableware.
15-18 JANUARY Christmas & Gift
www.harrogatefair.com HARROGATE Make the most of this buying event while the successes of Christmas 2011 are fresh in your mind!
27-31 JANUARY Christmasworld
christmasworld.messe
frankfurt.com FRANKFURT Feast your eyes on a huge array of Christmas and festive products from international suppliers
24-26 JANUARY Toy Fair
www.btha.co.u LONDON, OLYMPIA Toys, toys and more toys. Oh and quite a few games too!
5-7 FEBRUARY Totally Secure - DIY - Tools
www.totallydiy.co.uk BIRMINGHAM, NEC A selection of the latest tools, hardware and security products in a concise trade show. Why not venture into Spring Fair at the same time to pick up some gift and toy lines?
diary
To publicise your event, please send details via email to
naomi.davis@onecoms.co.uk
DIYRetailer.co.uk | Garden & Hardware News | 5
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