The essential news source for the home improvement industry MADE IN BRITAIN


24 FEBRUARY 2017 Eight pages of the best of British p15


INSIDE THIS WEEK


BUSINESS RATES Gilbert Evans reveals what the new system will mean for garden centres


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SPRING FAIR REVIEW What you missed at the NEC’s iconic exhibition


STEPPING BACK IN TIME


The latest chapter of shopfloor memories


WWW.DIYWEEK.NET


Bunnings unveils first UK stores as parent company reveals £28m loss


It’s been a busy month for Bunnings, with the opening of its first UK store, announcement of three more pilots and revelation of its second-half post-acquisition figures


The UK’s first Bunnings Warehouse store opened in St Albans earlier this month, shortly before the retailer’s Australian parent company revealed a pre-tax loss of £28m for its Homebase portfolio. Wesfarmers described the July to December trading period at Homebase – months five to ten post-acquisition – as “steady, despite significant disruption resulting from the extraction of Homebase from Home Retail Group and significant work to start repositioning the business.” Trading volumes were “in line with the prior year, after adjusting for the store closures instigated by the previous owner and the


exit of the Habitat and Argos ranges and other non-core home improvement ranges.” Transactions at Homebase


increased like-for-like by 9.1% and, with the adoption of the Bunnings ‘Always Low Prices’ mantra, a material price deflation was seen across the stores. Meanwhile, the first stage of


Wesfarmers’ £500m roll-out of the Bunnings brand across the UK got off to a flying start on February 2 with the opening of the UK’s first pilot store in Griffiths Way, St Albans. The 67,000sq ft outlet employs 68 people, almost double the previous workforce of the Homebase store. A third of the team members are aged


over 50, and include former plumbers, painters, electricians and landscape gardeners, as well as other trades people. The locations of the three


remaining stores to be opened are Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, and, by April, a second store for St Albans. This latter store will be the next to open and will take over the Homebase at Apsley Mills Retail Park. The store in Milton Keynes is one of Homebase’s biggest and will, reportedly, better resemble the traditional giant Bunnings Warehouse stores in Australia. Bunnings also announced that it will scrap zero-hour contracts for its British employees.


Excellence applauded at DIY Week Awards 2017


The best products, businesses and individuals of DIY and gardening were celebrated on Tuesday, February 7 as the industry came together for the 2017 DIY Week Awards. The event was held at The Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham and hosted by renowned journalist Clive Myrie. This year marked a slight change to the norm, with the


retail nominees unaware of the judges’ shortlist until the winners were announced on the night, meaning it was full of surprises. Winners in product categories included Positec’s Hydroshot (DIY Product of the Year), Henkel’s UniBond Renew (Decorating Product of the Year) and Fiskars’ PowerGear X Lopper (Garden Product of the Year).


Retail winners included


Kennedys Mica Hardware (Business Initiative Award), Taskers (Expansion Award), Nick Mackay, Mackay’s of Cambridge (Industry Personality Award) and Broad Street DIY (Retailer of the Year).


For a full list of winners, see


DIYWeek.net, and keep your eyes peeled for full coverage including images from the night in an upcoming issue of DIY Week.


Broad Street DIY picked up the coveted Retailer of the Year award, presented by Stax’s David Hibbert (far right)


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STOCK No. 15387 (GREEN) STOCK No. 15385 (ORANGE)


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