NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF


n A new Greenfingers Charity therapeutic garden at Grace House, Sunderland was officially opened by the Mayor of Sunderland on 21 October. This inspiring new garden will provide a peaceful place for relaxation and enjoyment for the seriously ill children and their families that call Grace House ‘home’ n A long-standing employee of LazyLawn has recently been granted a licence to supply and install the firm’s products for customers in London. Lak Gidaropoulos, 35, has been with the leading artificial grass company for the past five years, during which time he has worked across the capital as a sales manager. Lak is now licenced to sell and install LazyLawn’s products to consumers in North, North West and West London, Luton and Twickenham, and his team of four is based close to his home in Edgware. n Worcester Bosch has won three gold and one bronze awards at the Digital Impact Awards, the UK’s largest celebration of digital work in corporate communications. The UK’s leading boiler manufacturer picked up gold awards for the ‘Best use of data’, the ‘Best use of digital from the engineering and manufacturing sector’ and the ‘Best use of digital from the energy and utilities sector’. The MyWorcester app, which provides a series of tools to help installers easily manage their business, was particularly commended in the digital engineering/ manufacturing category. The judges commented that the technology is “a fantastic use of an app that is a no-brainer for installers to download.” n According to the latest quarterly job market report from leading independent job board, CV-Library, average pay for new retail jobs fell by 1.8% in Q3 2019, with applications for these roles consequently dropping by 26.1%. The report, which analyses fluctuations in salaries, job vacancies and applications throughout July, August and September 2019, found that the average salary for new jobs in retail sat at £26,999.33 during this period, which was also a 3.2% drop year-on-year.


4 DIY WEEK 25 OCTOBER 2019


Screwfix Live 2019 welcomes 20,000 visitors


Taking place at Farnborough Exhibition Centre, Screwfix Live saw 150 suppliers come together


under one roof,


including some of the biggest and best known brands in the industry, to give customers the opportunity to take part in demonstrations, activities and get hands on with the latest tools and DIY products. The final of Britain’s Top took place


Tradesperson third-generation Darren McGhee came at


Screwfix Live for the first time and


roofer, out


on top. He walked away with £10,000 worth of tools, a £5,000


tech bundle and £5,000 towards future training. Suppliers got their hands on the first ever Screwfix Products of the Year awards with Milwaukee, DeWalt, British General, Flomasta and No Nonsense winning across seven categories, voted by customers. Screwfix CEO, John Mewett, said: “Screwfix Live was an amazing weekend, once again. There was a real buzz around the show and our customers came out in force to see the latest products and deals from our suppliers.


“Thank you to all the staff and suppliers who give up their


Scruffs’ social investment sends sales soaring


Scruffs, one of the UK’s fastest growing performance workwear brand, is reaping the rewards for its investment in social media for its viral ‘fly-on-the-wall’ videos of tradespeople in their ‘natural habitats’ by On The Tools. The


entertaining videos


delivered by Scruffs’ social media marketing agency, On The Tools give a tongue-in cheek take on day-to-day site life. Inadvertently wearing Scruffs’ most comprehensive, innovative and


comfortable range of


trousers to date, the builders and plumbers captured on film induce laugh-out-loud reactions with their ironic take on their trades. Scruffs was delighted with the results of their online campaign, seeing a sales spike


Stax and Primeur agree exclusive distribution deal on recycled range


rubber has signed an exclusive new distribution deal with Stax Trade Centres. The deal will see a comprehensive selection of innovative and environmentally-friendly stepping


edging and planters made by Bingley-based


One of the UK’s leading producers of garden products manufactured from recycled


become available through the Stax Trade Centres UK-wide network.


“Primeur was one of the


stones, garden Primeur


Ltd


weekends to put together this amazing and unique event that allows our customers to get hands on with our products.”


of 490% after the videos went live across social media. Achieving more than 35 million views, the campaign impressed


judges at both


the Social Day Social Media Marketing Awards winning the Social Media Campaign of the Year (consumer) category and has been shortlisted in the UK Social Media Marketing Awards in the Best Use of Social Media (entertainment) category. Chris Mellor-Dolman, head of marketing & merchandising at Scruffs, commented: “We’re thrilled to have been recognised for the huge commitment we make in our social media messaging and branding with this prestigious award win and short listing.”


first companies to introduce


washable doormats into the UK in 1995, and since then they have constantly developed their products,” explained Stax purchasing


Wright. “We’re delighted to add the results of


director, their


innovative


approach to our product portfolio. Products with strong environmental credentials are increasingly popular with our customers and being made from recycled vehicle


tyres places


the Primeur range firmly in that category, as well as creating products that are also durable and virtually indestructible.”


GIMA expands its autumn Knowledge Exchange Workshop schedule


Back by popular demand for the fourth year running, these sessions will be led by corporate training specialist, Cedar Associates. The first will focus on how participants can improve the effectiveness of their negotiations. The


workshop will also offer hints and tips on how to develop rapport, identify the different stages of negotiation.


During the sales development planning workshops, delegates will focus on how to get more from their sales territory plans and


how to develop a consultative approach to selling. Topics covered will include linking territory plans to actions, analysing workloads,


time management,


the ‘Consultative Sales’ process, and proactive sales. Dates for the sessions will be confirmed soon.


Simon


n Read our full report of the event by Clive and Kerry Daley from the Daley Hub on page 10.


BHETA to hold meet the buyer day with Wilko


The British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA) has planned its ‘Meet The Buyer’ retail networking days with Wilko, the home and hardware retailer which now has over 400, mostly high street, stores in the UK.


The event which will include the whole Wilko buying team will take place on 13 November in the Shelley Suite, Best Western West Retford Hall, North Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, UK. At the Meet The Buyer event,


Wilko buyers are looking for companies who can offer a wide variety of products.


Current


supplier rationalisation means that prospective suppliers must be able to offer multiple lines and garden suppliers need to have drop ship capabilities.


Commenting on the forthcoming event, BHETA’s chief operating officer, Will Jones, said: “We are delighted to be providing members with another great opportunity to schedule face to face meetings with the key buyers for their categories. It’s also exciting to be working with a retail partner which literally spans all of the sectors of interest to the BHETA membership.”


www.diyweek.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36