New figures suggest animal lovers will spend more on their pets than their nearest and dearest over the festive season. A survey found that owners will be spending an average of £19.98 on their pets


re


compared to just £14.78 on their best friends. To


Torwood Garden Centre winning three awar


had a trio of successes, ds at


rd


the Falkirk Herald business awards dinner


the Best Independent award, Best for Tou and Best Business in the Community


Carmichael said Torwood Garden Centre stood out for its “longevity willingness to adapt to


y.. Drew To


re y,,


changing times, community spirit and continued


success in an increasingly competitive sector”  EnviroBuild, a


sustainable construction company, aims toy,


pr otect over 40k acres of rainfor est this year through donating 10% of their


pr ofits to the Rainfor est Trust and Ocean Cleanup, an organisation that collects plastic in the ocean thr ough long catchment lines and


Tr


r ecycles the plastic once recovered. 


Following rapid growth in its international business, heating brand, Mill has launched in the UK. Liverpool-based


Benr oss Marketing, a homewares and electrical appliances distributor, hasr, obtained the exclusive UK distribution license for the UK and is making a number of Mill’ s pr oducts available to retailers in the coming weeks.


 Smart Plant, the digital app that lets gar deners upload their plant collection and advice on how to car e for them, has exceeded its cr owdfunding target by 137%. Smartplant’s campaign attracted


mor e than 300 investors and raised more than £275,000. One surprise investor came in the form of r enowned celebrity gardener


 Plans have been submitted to build a new Lidl supermarket, B&M home stor e and garden centr e in Crewe. The proposed scheme is expected to create up to 150 full-time and part- time jobs. Cheshire East Council has set a target decision date for the


scheme of 2 January 2018. 2 DIY WEEK 15 DECEMBER 2017 2017


r,, winning To rism


NEWS IN BRIEF 


NEWS IN BRIEF N


NEWS


EWS


Bunnings opens two new stores in Basingstoke and Rotherham


Australian home improvement and garden retailer Bunnings Warehouse officially open its doors in Basingstoke and Rotherham this week, and has now revealed the locations for several other new stores that will open in 2018, or some even earlier


ff ficially opened r..


The new store in Basingstoke, which is on the site of the former Homebase on Winchester Road, spans 84,500sq ft, whilst


the


Rotherham branch is located on Parkgate, and occupies more than 70,000sq ft. Like the rest of


more


the pilot than


stores, both offffer 30,000


leading


home improvement and garden products, from a wide range of


global market-leading brands. The addition of Basingstoke and Rotherham takes the Bunnings W arehouse estate to 12 stor es, all of which have opened this year . Meanwhile, Hombease in Bicester is curr ently closed for Bunnings r efurbishment and it has also been r evealed that several units have


other Homebase


closed ahead of a transformation into the next series of Bunnings branches to open in 2018.


These include Chichester, Walthamstow, Hanworth, Newmarket and High Wycombe – all of which ar e curr ently closed for refurbishment.


The next round of openings will keep Bunnings on track for


its target to have 20 W ar ehouse stor es trading by the end of its financial year.


Bunnings’ team members at the latest stor es to have opened have alr eady been under takin g projects in the local area, as part of Bunnings’ ethos of getting involved with community. Projects included redecorating two bedrooms at Rotherham Hospice for families and installing shelving at Shiloh Rotherham, a drop-in centre which offffers food, clothing and facilities for the homeless.


fers hot


In Basingstoke, the Bunnings team had been refreshin g th e gar den area for patients at the Swiss Cottage and painting the


Kingfisher acquires Praktiker Romania


Kingfisher plc has announced that


it has completed the


acquisition of Praktiker Romania S.A. following receipt of competition appr oval. Kingfisher entered into a binding acquisition agreement in August 2017 to str engthen its position in the country


y.. bought


In 2013, the British gr oup the


Bricostore Brico DIY


network with EUR 75 million from the French group Bresson. The Bricostore units were r ebranded


the time of acquirement,


Depot. At Ian


Cheshire, Kingfisher’s Group Chief Executive, had said: “The Brico Dépôt s tore model has proved very successful in France and Spain, and we have said before that it has the potential for further international expansion. Expanding Kingfisher’s businesses in existing countries and in new territories is a key part of our ‘Creating the Leader’ strategy and I am therefore delighted to announce this exciting development.


“The home improvement market in Romania has


solid


gr owth potential and the stores we are acquiring are in good locations. We ar e looking forward


easy to shop format


pr ofessionals and serious DIY in Romania and developing a successful business there.”


Tu u


to offffering Brico Dépôt’s low-cost, trade Ye


to DIYers


At the end of August this year, Kingfisher announced that it had signed an agr eement to take over Praktiker Romania from T urkish investor Omar Susli, who had become the only shar eholder in the company in 2014. The British gr oup now operates 15 Brico Depot stores and 26 Praktiker stores in Romania.


Praktiker Romania r ecorded a turnover of EUR 139.5 million last year , up 3.3% over the previous year . Its losses amounted to about EUR 2.5 million in 2016.


Kingfisher operates 15 stor es under the Brico Depot brand in Romania and has acquired 26 Praktiker Romania stores, meaning the company will now own 41 stor es in Romania.


Tile Mountain lands place on Sunday T imes ‘Fast Tr


Online tile r etailer Tile Mountain has been awarded a place in Fast Track Ones To


Tr r,, Diarmuid Gavin. To Watch 10


list, which is due to be published this weekend in The Sunday Times, alongside the


annual Sunday Times V irgin Fast Tr


Track 100 League tab rack 100 League table.


The list r epresents companies whose sales growth falls just short of the main league table, but who are set to grow rapidly in the future.


re tile Moun tain


Commenting on the inclusion, MD


Jer emy


Harris said: “We’re very proud to have been included in The Sunday Times Ones to Watch 10 category for 2017 and that


21st our efffforts in establishing forts in establishing T ile


Mountain as a key retailer in the extremely competitive tile market have been r ecognised by such an esteemed and established body . To be included in a category that recognises the UK’ s fast gr owing companies afff firms the intentions and vision we had for this business fr om inception and is testament to the hard work of the close-knit T ile Mountain team that has helped position the company as a top ten ‘one to watch’.”


To


o be included in a category firms the intent


The company, which is based in Stoke-on-Tr


Trent, was


launched in 2013 by former Tile Giant owner Mo Iqbal, who is the retailer’ s chairman, former


Topps Tiles commer cial director Jer emy Harris, who holds the role of managing director and Nick Ousted, who is a non-executive director , and pr eviously held the role of chief executive at T Tiles.


To To Topps


Mr Harris added: “In four short years we have not only established the Tile Mountain brand thr ough pro-active omni- channel marketing, fast, effffficient or der fulfilment, and exceptional customer care, but have also gained significant market share from our competitors thanks to our unique value proposition that allows us to pass on huge savings to our customers.”


Hardwar e indie


launches feel-good Christmas ad to rival the multiples


Family-run, Hafod Hardware has gar nered great attention for its festive advert and has high hopes of putting its W elsh town on the map, with national press even picking up on the story.


Thomas Jones, who helps run the shop with his grandpar ents, Pauline and Alan,


Elan Va told DIY


Week that the two-minute ad, which was filmed in the shop in Rhayader and the beautiful Valley , is “getting a massive


Tr ac k Ones to Watch 10’ list


reaction in W ales”. Shar ed on social media, it has had mor e than 300,000 views across diffffer ent Facebook pages and on Yo


YouT ube so far , with pages such as Wales Online and London Metro sharing it. The national press has even picked up on the great story , with coverage in The Daily Mail and on ITV


V..


Mr Jones said: “Our Initial aim was to create content to share through social media, as this is a fantastic way to reach a ranging demographic.


“W e wanted to show that you don’ t need John Lewis’s budget of £7million to create something special. Instead, we made this for £7 (well, £6.99 for a red sack).” The ad and subsequent coverage has led to a huge boost in traffffic to the shop’s website and has seen online sales double, explained Mr Jones. “Everywhere we go, people are talking about our business.”


www.diyweek.net school hall for pupils at Lym Ly ymington


House, before of the opening of the new store.


Basingstoke complex Manager , Richard Southworth, said: “All our team members have worked really hard to get the store r eady for opening and have undertaken many hours of training to make sure we have the expertise to help customers with home or garden projects.”


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