NEWS
B&M profits soar as customers flock to discount retailers
B&Q scraps Homfit, as it overhauls kitchen and bathroom sales process
B&Q has entered into a consultation process with 700 employees as a result of new plans to simplify the buying process &
within bathrooms,
kitchens including
scrapping its Homefit installation service. The DIY giant has proposed to
Discount retailer B&M has announced a positive result in revenue despite purse strings tightening and high street retailers struggling to keep afloat.
Income at B&M European
Value Retail S.A. for the 53 weeks to 31 March 2018 was £3.03bn compared to £2.43bn for the previous 52-week period. Group revenues increased by 22.4% to £2,976.3 million. B&M UK has reported positive like-for-like revenues with an increase of +4.7% and expansion plans are confirmed with 47 gross new B&M store openings in the UK.
B&M has sought a new warehouse investment
in the
UK, where the company has acquired land for 1,000,000 sqft warehouse in Bedford at a cost of £44 million and the build and fit out costs over the next 18 months is expected to be c. £65 million.
Chief executive Simon Arora said: “B&M has delivered another set of strong results by doing what we do best, which is providing great value week-in, week-out on the things customers buy regularly for their homes and families.
“The B&M model is highly
relevant for the current difficult economic environment, with its strong position in the value and convenience areas of retailing where physical stores are winning.” He added that he thinks, the business and its ‘unique model’, “is well placed for continued profitable, long- term growth.”
change the way it sells kitchens and bathrooms, hoping to make the transaction simpler, so that customers only have to deal with one staff member. The
changes set out reducing the
designed to speed up the buying process,
“encouraging signs”. However, the retailer explained that said around 90% of customers now choose to use third-party fitters. B&Q retail director Paul Crisp said in a statement: “We want to be the leading home improvement company and make home improvement accessible
for everyone. That means we need to operate differently. “We’re always looking to make
things easier for our customers. The proposed changes will make it
simpler for them to
buy a kitchen or bathroom as they’ll only need to deal with one person in store; they’ll shorten
are time
between the design and delivery of the product. As part of the plans, the business will scrap its Homefit installation service at the end of the year. When introduced in spring 2013 under Kingfisher Group chief executive Ian Cheshire, the company said the installation service was showing
Amazon UK on recruitment drive
Online retail giant set to create more than 2,500 permanent
jobs in the UK
this year in order to meet increasing customer demand and an ongoing expansion of products and services. The new additions will grow Amazon’s total permanent
workforce in the UK to 27,500 by the end of the year and Amazon says it is hiring “up and down the country”, filling hundreds of positions at its head office, as well as roles in research and development, operations and its Amazon Web Services (AWS) department. The recruitment drive, says Amazon, jobs reflect “growing investments in British research and development, increasing customer demand, and continued expansion of products and services”. The company has invested over £9.3 billion in its UK operations since 2010. There are roles available for people with all levels of experience, education and skills, from software developers, engineers and technicians, to those seeking
entry-level
positions and on-the-job training. Amazon is hiring for roles
in its head office and fashion photography studio in London, development centres in Cambridge, Edinburgh and London, its customer service centre in Edinburgh, within AWS, as well as in its dozens of delivery stations across the country and 16 fulfilment centres, including at new sites in Coventry and Bolton.
The expansion of the company’s operations network helps support tens of thousands of independent businesses of all sizes, with half of all units stocked in Amazon’s UK fulfilment centres held on behalf of sellers using Fulfilment by Amazon. The company’s Cambridge development centre opened a new building last year, focusing on Alexa, machine learning and Prime Air – the drone-based delivery
system Amazon currently developing. Consumer spending in DIY stores and garden centres soar in May
The sunshine brought shoppers out in force in May, as consumer expenditure rose significantly during May, peaking over the early Bank holiday, with garden centres recording
a
increase of 50.3% over the weekend, whilst spending in DIY stores was up 19.3%. In total, consumer spending
grew 5.1% year-on-year in May, which is the highest level seen since April 2017, according to the latest figures from payment services provider Barclaycard.
www.diyweek.net
In-store spending rose by 2.6%, as good weather encouraged shoppers to head out to the high street and local garden centres. Data from Barclaycard, which
year-on-year
processes nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, shows that, in stark contrast to the negative impact of the ‘Beast from the East’, the hottest Early May Bank Holiday on record boosted spending for many retailers. During that time, Brits spent 19.7% more in DIY stores and 10.1% more in supermarkets compared with
the same long weekend in 2017. Garden centre spending rose 50.3% over the three days, which led to the category bouncing back to 23.8% growth overall in May. DIY stores, meanwhile, saw a 7.3% rise in spending for the month. Barclaycard
director Esme
Harwood said of the findings: “Although a degree of caution remains, UK shoppers felt confident enough to let themselves enjoy the sunny weather in May. This brought good news for the high street.”
the lead time between booking a design appointment and delivery of a new kitchen or bathroom. “The changes will require a new team structure in our kitchen and bathroom areas to reflect advances in home improvement design technology and changes resulting from the move away from an installation offer. They mean that we will focus on delivering great service and quality to our customers at prices that are truly affordable.” The decision to axe the Homefit service will affect 300 workers across 14 B&Q lolcations. The other 400 employees B&Q has entered into consultation with are part of its in-store design arm. However, B&Q said that no employees will be worse off as a result of the chhanges, and that the overhauled service will produce 400 new jobs.
Wilsons of Colchester acquire Westbrook & Thompson
DIY Wholesaler Wilsons of
Colchester has announced it has acquired Westbrook & Thompson, the South London wholesaler of household hardware and DIY products who has been established since 1919, offering products and service to retailers and trade outlets across the country.
is
Wilsons of Colchester released a statement to its customers, which read: “We are delighted to share with you that Wilsons has agreed to take on the Westbrook & Thompson business. This is an excellent move forwards for Wilsons and ensures that all customers can still get supply of Westbrook’s unique range of products.
“For those of you who are not familiar with their range, we look forward to sharing all the new lines with you very soon!”
It has been understood that stock will be transferred to Colchester during this week. Wilsons urges customers to “stay up to date by checking our news section on the website, where we will be giving daily updates on progress.”
15 JUNE 2018 DIY WEEK 5
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