NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
n In the last ten years, the David Colegrave Foundation has awarded almost £100,000 through scholarships, trip bursaries and other educational initiatives. Applications for further funding are already coming in for the current scholarship season. Colleges can also apply directly for group trip bursaries. Preference is given to candidates who have an interest in ornamental commercial horticulture, especially with an emphasis on the bedding, container, pot plant and cut flower sectors. Scholarship Season is open now until 31 January 2020. To apply visit www. davidcolegravefoundation.
org.uk n Create and Craft, the award winning multi- channel craft retailer, has announced a new partnership with Ellison, the developer of consumer die-cutting machines. Sizzix, launched by Ellison in 2001, is now a recognised brand that caters specifically to the creative consumer market in over 100 countries, and will further expand Create and Craft’s growing digital presence in the craft market. Incorporating the world-renowned brand into its existing content strategy, multi- channel retailer, Create and Craft, is planning to bring customers the full 360° experience, with inspirational content, both on and off-screen. n Squire’s Garden Centres has announced that it will donate 300 Silver Birch trees to local parks and green spaces. This is due to its ‘Love Where You Live’ campaign in September, where it pledged to donate 5p for every plant sold to go towards giving trees to the local community. Some of the places where the trees will be planted include Priory Park in Reigate, Stoke Recreation Ground in Guildford, Ifield Millpond in Crawley, Hickleys Corner in Farnham, Homewood Park in Chertsey, Bernays Gardens in Stanmore, and Esher Fire Station. n The prestigious DIY Global Summit takes place form the 10-12 June 2020 and there are discounted opportunities for BHETA members to exhibit. Visit
www.bheta.co.uk/export
4 DIY WEEK 11 OCTOBER 2019
Better Bathrooms set to ‘smash’ record- high revenue of £50m in two years
Despite falling into administration earlier this year, Better Bathrooms has seen a huge turnaround under new owners, Buy it Direct, as its new online-only model moves the company into profit within just six months The Buy it Direct Group, which also operates e-commerce sites,
LaptopsDirect.co.uk and
furniture123.co.uk, bought Better Bathrooms out of administration on March 18 this year. With administrators having closed all bricks-and-mortar stores, Buy it Direct turned the
b u s i n e s s into a fully- online model, operating from a central distribution hub and trading under the
AppliancesDirect.co.uk,
name
BetterBathrooms.com. The move paid off, with Better Bathrooms
moving from an
ailing business to a profitable company in six short months. Buy it Direct has now announced plans to beat Better Bathroom’s £50million peak revenue within two years of its acquisition.
Buy it
Direct Group managing director Nick Glynne said: “Our revenue trajectory shows that, if we continue
at our current pace, we will have taken
BetterBathrooms.com from administration to smashing their peak revenue of £50million within two years.”
As part of the deal in March, Buy it Direct saved the jobs of 25 Better Bathrooms employees, all of whom are still employed and
Industry leaders comment on government’s new housebuilding figures
The Government has just released new housebuilding stats covering the past 12 months. It says the number of new homes completed by developers in the year ending June 2019 had surged to over 170,000 – the highest number built over the same period in the last 11 years. Some of the housing finance industry’s leaders commented:
Jamie Johnson, CEO, FJP Investment,
said: “One might
think it is good news that there’s been an eight per cent rise in the number of new homes being built
across Britain. Yet regardless of the positive spin the government might try and put on these new figures, they are still well, well short of the number required – in
Bathroom and Kitchen Conference delivers tools for success
The 2019 Bathroom & Kitchen Business
Conference was
hailed a resounding success by delegates, who gathered at the Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire recently. The conference featured a
programme of speakers on a range of topics, all aimed at providing valuable information about how to achieve business success during the challenging and uncertain times that prevail.
Tom Reynolds, BMA CEO said: “It was a supercharged day with something for everyone.
All the
major issues that impact on the bathroom industry were covered, including compliance, global markets, design influences, trends and a fascinating insight into what the future of trade may look like post Brexit. “The brilliant Ellis Watson set
the standard for the day with an energetic and outstanding
motivational speech about how to be brave, manage change and bring passion into business.” Alan Dodds, president, BMA added, “It was one of the best conferences, I have attended. With so many inspirational and informative speakers.
British group presents new product launches at CIPS
A collection of pet product suppliers are exhibiting in the PetQuip trade association’s group at CIPS 2019, the China International Pet Show (CIPS) being held in Shanghai, China on 20 – 23 November 2019. This is the second British
group presence at the show, and
with British exhibitors
showcasing product innovations across various areas of the pet sector, it is hoped that new and expanded trade opportunities are opened up in several Asian markets. Exhibitors representing the British presence at the show, include: Hugo and Hudson; PetQuip, the International Trade Association of Pet Equipment
Suppliers; VetUK; and Vitalin – The Natural Choice.
Companies wishing to learn
more about the comprehensive range of business services offered by PetQuip to British suppliers and exporters of pet care products should contact the association via its website at
www.petquip.com
From left, Shaun Shah, Craig Shaw, Managing Director of Benjamin Moore UK, Kush Shah and Vihar Shah
www.diyweek.net
fact, it’s approximately half the number that’s needed if we are to address the housing crisis.” Paresh Raja, CEO, Market Financial Solutions, said: “Things are heading in the right direction, but too slowly. I think there is actually a bigger issue at play, too; according to data from Land Registry, on average new- builds costs 29 per cent more than existing properties. If we are looking to solve the housing crisis by building more homes, then we must ensure new-builds are more affordable.”
working on the brand. Due to the rapid growth of the acquisition, Buy it Direct is also looking to recruit a further 25 members of staff to join the Better Bathrooms team.
Online venture,
BetterBathrooms.com lists more than 2,000 product lines, ranging from clearance stock, to new season ranges. Glynne added: “We are delighted to have acquired Better Bathrooms, which has great
credentials within the
bathroom and trade sectors, bringing further specialisms under the Buy it Direct umbrella.”
Benjamin Moore announces
Homeflair as new stockist
Benjamin Moore has
announced Homeflair in Ruislip, Greater London, as a newly appointed Authorised Stockist of its high quality range of paints.
has prided itself on providing the
quality homeware products
DIY to
both
consumers and professionals in the Ruislip area. Distributing for domestic, commercial and industrial projects, Homeflair stocks an abundance of paint choices, providing high quality products from both well established and supporting up and coming brands. The retailer will be adding to
its offering of high quality paints with a variety of Benjamin Moore collections, including the Aura, Regal Select and Advance ranges. Benjamin Moore’s extensive
colour range will be
displayed within the store, with all of it’s 3,500 colour collection able to be mixed in store. Supplying paints, wallcoverings and fabrics to customers for over 40 years, Benjamin Moore is pleased to be joining its ever growing portfolio.
For over 40 years, Homeflair highest
and
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