COMMENT New Year, new focus


Founded in 1874 No 5,849 - 14 January 2019 www.diyweek.net


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“Let’s hope a lot of Brits vowed to


take on home improvement projects this year”


Happy New Year to you all!


I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas, with a few much-needed days off no doubt, and hopefully tills that got a good workout over the festive period. Christmas has been a mixed bag for retailers this year, judging by the results I’ve seen and the anecdotal comments I’ve heard. Encouragingly, almost half of respondents to our online poll said sales had been ‘great’ or ‘good’, whilst 29% said they had been fairly flat on last year. Topps seems to have had a tough start to the year, which is interesting given that people DIY Week spoke to for this issue’s flooring feature said more people are turning towards tiled flooring. With the Brexit saga and scaremongering continuing to drag on in the media, I think many will be on tenterhooks for the foreseeable future. Let’s just hope a lot of Brits vowed to take on a few more home improvement projects or become expert gardeners as part of their New Year’s resolutions this year. And then, there’s always National Home Improvement month to look forward to in April, which might serve to get the nation in gear and splashing out on DIY. There is always something to focus on and, with Christmas out of the way for another


year, we now move on to hoping it snows or is icy enough – not to disrupt shoppers from spending, but for them to need thtings like gritting salt, de-icer, heating products, and maybe even the odd sledge. And, that’s without even mentioning opportunities in rodent products, as rats and mice head indoors to get out of the cold… but more about all that in our pest control feature next issue.


Editor, Fiona Garcia: fgarcia@datateam.co.uk In This Issue


© 2019 Datateam Business Media Ltd. DIY Week incorporates Decor Retailing, DIY Retail Leaders, DIY Superstore, Do-It-Yourself


Retailing, Domestic Electrical Appliances,


Excellence In Garden Retailing, Excellence In Woodcare Retailing, Excellence In Timber Retailing, Excellence In Tile Retailing, Garden Retail Leaders, Garden Retailing, Hardware Merchandiser, Hardware Trade Journal, Homecentre, Home Storage Retailing, The Ironmonger, Ironmongery & Hardware, Lighting, Martineau & Smith’s Monthly Circular, Mercantile Guardian, Superstore Management, Tools Retailing, and Wholesale Leaders. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the publishers. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in DIY Week. However, Datateam Business Media Ltd will not be liable for any inaccuracies. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. DIY Week is registered at Stationers’ Hall. ISSN 0954-8823. DIY Week is printed on environmentally friendly paper; both text paper and cover stock are elementary chlorine free and sourced from paper suppliers with a well planned environmental policy. This issue of DIY Week includes some editorial photographs provided and paid for by suppliers. Printed by Buxton Press.


P4 / NEWS


The latest headlines from across the home improvement and garden sector


P8 / NEWS EXTRA A breakdown of how retailers fared over the


Christmas period


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P14 / RANGE REVIEW: www.diyweek.net


FLOORING & FLOORCARE Trends and opportunities within the sector


P24 / EXPERT OPINION


Brookes takes a closer look at effective email marketing


14 JANUARY 2019 DIY WEEK 3 Published by


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