NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF


n Bathroom manufacturer, Utopia Furniture Group has rolled out a new five-in-one cloud-based system that combines mobile apps - including electronic proofs of delivery (POD) and vehicle tracking - with a customer relationship management system (CRM). Having already successfully implemented a real-time transport management system from BigChange, Utopia has now begun extending the system to improve back office and sales force automation. n Apprenticeship starts are falling because of the Apprenticeship Levy, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which believes the tax scheme needs to be made more flexible. According to the figures, there were 375,800 apprenticeship starts reported for the 2017/18 academic year, compared with 494,900 in 2016/17 and 509,400 in 2015/16, a decrease of 24.1% and 26.2% respectively. n The Swedish retailer, Clas Ohlson has


announced plans to close all stores in the UK and Germany and focus on internet retailing, blaming a weak retail climate and the cost of developing a strong digital presence. The move is expected to deliver a £6.5million annual boost to operating profit when closures have been completed. The retailer has announced plans to shut up its remaining network of shops across the UK and Germany, explaining that the board wants to take a new direction for Clas Ohlson’s market presence and focus on online shopping. n Perrywood Tiptree garden centre has announced it has won a gold award for the category ‘Newbies’ at the 2018 FreeFrom Eating Out Awards. The garden centre is home to an award-winning Coffee Shop serving everything from hot lunches, paninis and ploughmans to scones and cakes, all of which can be found on the Coffee Shop’s specially designed ‘free from’ menu. n Barton Grange Garden Centre and Castle Gardens have been announced as the national winners of the 2018 Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) annual Christmas competition.


4 DIY WEEK 14 DECEMBER 2018


Homebase agrees concession partnership with Tapi


Homebase has announced it has signed a concession partnership with Tapi Carpets & Floors, the nationwide flooring specialists. The partnership will see Tapi concessions open in a significant number of Homebase stores across the UK. The first concession will open in Orpington on 20 December 2018, with further openings over the next two years. The


concessions,


approximately 1,500 sq ft in size, will sit alongside Homebase’s own flooring range. Tapi Carpets offers its customers a wide range of quality choice, with customer service at the heart of everything it does.


CEO of Homebase, Damian McGloughlin said: “We’re delighted


to announce our


partnership with Tapi, which will give our customers access to an even wider range of products.


We see lots of opportunities to work with partners like Tapi to offer complementary products to help our customers complete their home projects. “This is an exciting chapter for the business as we continue to accelerate our turnaround plan and work towards returning Homebase to profitability.” CEO of Tapi, Martin Harris commented: “Tapi is delighted to be partnering with Homebase


to provide customers with quality flooring products for projects, big and small. To be selected by Homebase as its flooring partner of choice is proof that Tapi is doing what it set out to do, which is: provide excellent service and products at great value. “We’re very much looking


forward to working with Homebase


the partnership


Dobbies reports sales growth following head office shake-up


The garden centre chain said it enjoyed six consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth of more than 11% this financial year, after a fall in sales and profits in the year after it was sold by supermarket giant Tesco.


Dobbies recorded a 1.5% slide in sales to £148.3million for the 12 months ended February 25, 2018 but the business said recent trading has benefitted significantly from a strategic review and the appointment of a new leadership team in January.


The latest filed accounts for Dobbies Garden


Centres


Group Limited (DGCG) and its subsidiaries cover the period since the company’s acquisition in June 2016 by an investor group lead by private equity firms Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital. Pre-tax profit fell by £3.1million to £5.1million, which Dobbies attributed to one-off


items in the prior year. However, range changes implemented during the second half of the year also resulted in lower footfall and conversion; particularly during the Christmas trading period. A management shake-up in July saw former Wyevale boss Nicholas Marshall ousted from his role as CEO at the Midlothian- based chain and resulted in a new team at the helm, lead by Graeme Jenkins, who joined the firm as CFO. The head office reshuffle saw a number of departures, including other directors who joined the group with Mr Marshall in 2017.


Wyevale announces sale of Wellingborough and Wolds View centres


Wyevale Garden Centres (WGC), has announced the sale of two of its centres. Wellingborough has been sold to Higgins


Landscape and


Garden Centres Limited (part of Higgins Building Supplies Limited), and Wolds View to Woodthorpe Hall Centres


Limited. Both buyers have expressed delighted by the opportunity to expand its existing businesses and will continue to operate these sites as garden centres. Chief executive of WGC, Roger Mclaughlan said: “We are pleased to have agreed the sale of a further two centres. We would like to thank our great colleagues at these centres, who have been central to our turnaround in the past few years, and wish them well for the next stage of their growth and development under new ownership.” The sales are expected to


complete during December. Anthony Jones, chief financial


officer of WGC, said: “Since the launch of the sale process in May we have now sold 37 ‘non- core’ centres and are currently evaluating a wide range of competitive offers from the group buyers, regional operators and local entrepreneurs.”


Christie & Co, the specialist business property advisor managing the sale process on behalf of WGC, have run a two phase process that has achieved considerable interest from a wide variety of buyers.


and believe will


provide customers with even more choice when choosing the


perfect flooring for their home”. The retail giant has confirmed


recently it has secured an asset- based lending facility of up to £95m with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Company. “We are really pleased to have secured lending facilities from Wells Fargo as Homebase achieves another milestone in delivering its turnaround plan,” said Damian McGloughlin, CEO. “We look forward to working closely with Wells Fargo, who have provided a bespoke facility that supports the working capital requirements of the business.” The refinancing is the latest milestone achievement for the Homebase business, which is in the midst of delivering its turnaround plan. Following the successful agreement to the Company Voluntary Arrangement, which was supported by 96% of all creditors, along with improved trading and execution, EBITDA for the first four months of the current financial year is already £35m ahead of last year, and the business is on track to return to profitability by the end of 2019.


Amazon to open check- out free store in Britain


Amazon is reportedly planning to introduce its first checkout- free store in Britain as it looks to expand its high-tech experience for shoppers. Bosses are eyeing up sites near Oxford Circus in London for the ‘Amazon Go’ shop – its high-tech retail brand which it currently only offers in the US. Sensors,


cameras and


computer vision technology tracks shoppers as they pick up items and the customers are automatically billed on an app as they leave. The company’s US executives are looking at sites in London ranging from 3,000sq to 5,000sq ft for the proposed store which would be its flagship shop in Britain, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The store would be the first of its kind in Britain and pave the way towards a cashless shopping experience in a store with no checkouts. One tech expert said Britain was known for “adopting technology quickly” and the UK is therefore an ideal country for Amazon to experiment. “Amazon is still in the phase of demonstrating the technology


and showing the


concept works. I have no doubt Amazon has big plans for the US, but the UK is a really good place for it to come next,” Analyst Marina Koytcheva of CCS Insight told The Sunday Telegraph.


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