NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
Screwfix and agency collaborators McCann Central and Viewpoint are has debuted their latest Outdoor Projects campaign, which focused on supporting a charity for young people. Filmed on location at The Amber Foundation in Devon, the integrated campaign showcases Britain’s fastest growing retailer’s outdoor project offering – in a way that benefits a community project close to Screwfix’s Yeovil heartland. Customers and colleagues have helped Bents Garden & Home raise an incredible amount for its 2017 Charity of the Year. A total of £22,100 has been presented to Alzheimer’s Society by Bents, which will use the donation to help people living in the Warrington and surrounding areas. Bents Garden & Home managing director Matthew Bent said: “We are absolutely delighted to have raised so much for the Alzheimer’s Society and believe our money will be used to help people living with the condition in our local community.” Independent retailers came together at Morris Mica in Alcester on Sunday for the first of two Spring Mica Co-operative Meetings. Owners David & Maria Morris welcomed shop owners and managers from across the UK, as they opened specially on Sunday to invited guests. Mr Morris said: “It was a challenge to transport and we had to disassemble ourselves, but the savings and improvements it allowed us to make to the shop at the time were massive.” If you enjoy our monthly instalments of stories from the shop floor in an Independent Remembers, you can read more in former retailer, Graham Higson’s latest book, All Mod Cons. Described as an ‘equal’ (a narrative that runs alongside the timeline of an existing story) to his earlier novel, How Much for a Little Screw, All Mod Cons sees Graham’s famous hardware man character make a return with his eclectic bunch of staff and dysfunctional customers. And, there could even be another book in the pipeline, as Graham explains he has “a longer story already plotted out”.
4 DIY WEEK 13 APRIL 2018
Bunnings’ potential plans to exit UK unfold
Bunnings UK & Ireland (BUKI) parent, Wesfarmers, has reportedly re-thought its $705million acquisition of Homebase after just two years of its conversion plan, as the Australian owners look to potentially sell the operation to a UK buyer.
The news comes after an unscheduled review of the performance and strategic plans for Bunnings United Kingdom and Ireland by Wesfarmers Limited, where it was stated that BUKI is expected to report an underlying loss before interest and tax of £97 million ($165 million) for the first-half of the 2018 financial year. Wesfarmers has now reportedly consulted with investment bank Lazard, for advice in how to move forward with the chain and take steps to provide a solution for the
significant financial loss; this may include finding a buyer, or even considering a company voluntary agreement (CVA) for BUKI – which under British insolvency law allows a company to renegotiate its debts and contracts. Former Wickes CEO Bill Grimsey told Fairfax Media: “The Homebase business is not very well positioned now. It’s overpriced and over rented in terms of the properties – all the properties are far too expensive. [Wesfarmers]
have paid too much for it... they’ve arrived in England with a Bunnings format and really plonked Australia into England and that was never going to work.” “A CVA may buy them some time, but they need an expert running it,” Mr Grimsey said. Managing director of
Wesfarmers, Rob Scott said in February: “We need to address underperformance in our portfolio that is detracting from positive performance in other areas, and
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: £106.6 million). Like-for-like revenues for the 26 week period increased by 0.6%.
The Group ended the period with 376 stores, having opened five and closed three stores during the first half.
Trading in the second quarter has seen a slow-down from the levels reported in Q1, with like- for-like sales down by 2.2%. While the company “estimate that short term weather factors in late February and March, and the timing of an earlier Easter, account for around 1.6% of the second quarter like-for-like sales reduction, it is also clear that that there has been a softening of the underlying market.” Topps Tiles has reported that it will “continue to invest in the business and to make good progress with our core
strategy of ‘Out-Specialising the Specialists’ to extend our market leading position in the UK tile market.” Specific strategic progress in the period includes: Chief executive officer, Matthew Williams said: “After a strong start to the year, market conditions have become more challenging over the second quarter. While the business has responded well with a performance ahead of the overall tile market, we are retaining a cautious view of market conditions for the remainder of the year.”
Fire at Strikes has “destroyed most of the centre”
A huge fire broke out at Strikes Garden Centre in Stokesley on April 6, causing massive damage to the majority of the centre. Fire crews were called at 21:20 BST on Friday evening, with eight fire engines and 40 firefighters attending at its peak. Three crews remained at the scene on Saturday morning as the fire continued overnight.
Strikes Garden Centre released this statement on its facebook page: “Sadly we need to share the news that our garden centre is closed until further notice due to a fire that has destroyed most of the centre. We will keep you updated through this page and our website.”
David Arbus, retail operations director for Klondyke Strikes, told BBC News that 90% of the shop had been destroyed. Many customers and members of the community commented on the post, expressing their deepest regrets, one person said: “I passed it today. It’s absolutely awful. Gut wrenching for the owners, employees and Stokesley community as a whole. I hope you can rebuild this amazing place that so many people enjoyed.” Strikes Garden Centre took to its social media page to thank the
Breaking News (Teesside) @BNTeesside
support they have had from the local community: “We would like to say the biggest thank you for all the messages of support and good wishes you have sent to us following our devastating fire on Friday evening, we have been overwhelmed by the support and are proud to be a part of such a fantastic community.”
Bad weather effects 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 March 30 and by -6.9% on Saturday March 31), footfall in retail parks and shopping centres increased (+5% from Good Friday and Easter Saturday last year) Weather improvements on East Sunday saw retail footfall increase by 0.7% across the UK however; footfall up to 12pm on Easter Monday has seen a decline due to further rain. When the rain eased on Sunday consumers were encouraged to venture out into high streets once more and consequently footfall rose by +1.9%.
www.diyweek.net
the announcement today sets out decisive actions to achieve this. “The Homebase acquisition has been below our expectations which is obviously disappointing. In light of this, [we need to] identify the actions required to improve shareholder returns.” Meanwhile, Bunnings
Warehouse in Somerset officially opened its doors on April 4, and Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney has reportedly arrived in the UK to review the business.
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