NEWS


Screwfix celebrates more store openings


Dobbies snaps up 31 Wyevale centres


Dobbies Garden Centres has announced the acquisition of a further 31 centres from Wyevale, following its deal last autumn to take on six sites, including Woodcote Green Garden Centre. The latest purchase


increases the Dobbies estate to 69 centres,


taking annual


Screwfix has announced a successful launch of its store opening, the fourth store to open in Coventry. The


store in Henley


Industrial Park, officially opened its doors on March 7 2019 with hundreds of customers ready to stock up on the latest tools and trade essentials, said Screwfix. On the same day, the company opened a new store in Helston Business Park, Clodgey Lane, Cornwall as well as a new store in Doulas on the Isle of Man.


This is part of the company’s


growing network of over 620 stores nationwide, meaning 97% of the UK population are within a 30-minute drive of a store. Since Screwfix opening its 600th store in September – a major milestone for the UK retailer which has added 100 new stores to its network in the past 18 months, the rapid pace of store openings has only continued, suggesting major growth in the company, with a new store opening in Flint just last month. Screwfix’s Douglas-Isle of Man store manager, Flowers,


is proud


contributions the new store has made to employment figures in the region: “We’ve created 9 new jobs and employed people from around the Isle of Man. Our new team includes people with all


different levels


of experience, focused on providing superb customer service to meet the needs of our busy trade customers. Everyone here is really looking forward to the store opening.” The


Screwfix supports local


Foundation charities


and community projects by providing donations to fix, repair or maintain local homes and community facilities. Screwfix staff are directly involved in helping community projects and host charity fundraising events within the stores.


www.diyweek.net


sales to over £300million and making it the largest garden centre operator in the UK. The company said the store portfolio is


“highly complementary to


Dobbies’ existing estate”, and completion of the deal will be phased across May and June 2019, with centres continuing to trade under the Wyevale name until sales are completed. The latest


round of centres


taken on by Dobbies in this deal are: Altrincham, Andover,


Beaconsfield, Brighton, Bury St Edmunds, Cadnam, Findern, Galton, Gosforth, Hare Hatch, Harlestone Heath, Havant, Hungerford, Keston, Leicester Rowena, Lelant, Marple, Moreton Park, Northampton, Pennine, Poppleton, Royston, Rugby, Shenstone, Stratford upon Avon, Stockton, Swansea, Swindon, Telford, Thornbury and World’s End.


Dobbies CEO Jenkins said: “We


Graeme are very


pleased to have agreed this acquisition from Wyevale and we look forward to welcoming our new customers, as well as 1,400 new team members to Dobbies as we drive the growth of the business and deliver against our strategic plan.” In two purchases in October last year, Dobbies took on


six of Wyevale’s largest sites: Gloucester; Heighley


Gate;


Huntingdon; Woodbridge, Woodcote Green, and Woodlands.


Chairman Andrew Bracey said: “We are delighted to have now acquired a total of 37 garden centres from Wyevale. Since acquiring Dobbies in 2016 we have doubled it in size, expanded Dobbies’ national footprint and strengthened our position as the UK’s leading garden centre operator. All of this will benefit Dobbies’ customers with broader ranges, national coverage, a leading online offer and great prices.”


The latest sale leaves Wyevale


with a portfolio of 60 centres, and a further four centres that are operating under licence. The announcement comes as WGC


Mano Mano raises €110m in funding European online home


improvement marketplace, Mano Mano has raised €110million in a new funding round and has confirmed the company’s 2020 ambition of achieving €1 billion in sales. This series D fund raising sees new investors Eurazeo Growth, Aglae Ventures and Bpifrance via its fund Large Venture join previous Mano Mano investors CM-CIC, Partech,


and General Atlantic. With


this latest scale-up aims


Piton, BPI round, the


to develop its


offering for professionals and seller experience as well as


Shelley of the


recruit high profile tech talent and continue its European conquest, especially in the UK market. Since


its creation, Mano


Mano’s mission has been to empower individuals, professionals and retailers to make their own kind of world, freeing them from the traditional restrictions of DIY through a collaborative platform and innovative services. Worth a total of €365 billion in Europe, both the BtoC and BtoB DIY markets are amongst the last to adapt to the modern digital consumer. The European platform for DIY and gardening currently has over


20 million monthly visits with over 2.5 million active clients in 2018, twice the number registered in September 2017 when the company last raised funds. In 2018, Mano Mano continued its growth with an 85% increase in sales.


As the second biggest


European DIY market, worth 27 billion euros, the UK is key for Mano Mano. Our aim is for the UK to account


for 25%


of all sales, and results so far are encouraging as this is the fastest growing country with a 200% increase on sales since its launch.


Benjamin Moore opens second UK showroom


Following the success of the


brand’s first showroom in Chelsea,


opened


in October 2017, Benjamin Moore has opened a second UK location, with a new, even-larger showroom in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Situated


in Wilmslow, the display the centre 1,650sq


of ft


showroom opened its doors on the April 8 and boasts a gallery


showcasing


all 3,500 of the paint brand’s colour collection. The store – which will


serve painting


professionals, interior designers and consumers – is 300sq ft larger than its sister site in London and stocks Benjamin Moore’s full range of residential


and commercial paint products. The trained showroom team will offer product advice and in-house colour consultations. Benjamin Moore UK director Helen Shaw said: “We thrilled


are to open Benjamin


Moore’s second UK showroom in such a prestigious location in Winslow. Since our launch in


the UK in 2015, we have built up a strong customer base in the North West and, thanks to popular demand, we’re pleased to finally provide our loyal professionals, interior designers and consumers with a place to source our bespoke colours, industry-leading technology materials for their projects.”


North American paint which


Dobbies CEO Graeme Jenkins said the acquisition forms part of Dobbies’ strategic plan to drive the growth of the business


reports strong trading in the first quarter of 2019 with sales up 26% year on year, profitability significantly improved and high levels of liquidity.


Sales of outdoor plants soar


in February UK garden centres reported a 61% surge in sales of outdoor plant


last month, helped


by the milder weather this spring, with garden sundries and sales of seeds and bulbs also showing increases. The positive start


centres across


country saw increases in core gardening categories compared to the same period last year, according to the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade (BoT) report. Sales in garden sundries were


up 30%, seed and bulb sales were up 25% and furniture and barbecue sales were up an impressive 34% on last year. Meanwhile, Christmas sales


were also up almost 55% during February, whilst houseplant sales were up 17%. GCA members also reported an uplift of nearly 4% in pets and aquatics, and in other non- core gardening categories, gift sales were up just over 2% and catering sales were up 13%. Clothing sales were up almost 6% and food hall and farm shop sales were up 3%.


Overall sales for the month


were up nearly 20%, with a year- to-date change of 14%. The GCA BoT reports are using actual sales


compiled


figures and provide an up-to- date trading position statement.


12 APRIL 2019 DIY WEEK 5


continued into February as garden


to 2019 the


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