PEOPLE NEWS


Kidde Safety Europe appoints new managing director


Obituary: Vivienne Abbott


The DIY industry has paid tribute to former Hardware Retailer of the Year winner and BIRA vice-president, Vivienne Abbott who passed away peacefully on Friday, August 4 after a “short but brave battle with cancer”.


Mrs Abbott, who ran Abbotts DIY with her sons Chris and Jeff, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year.


Kidde Safety Europe UK sales director Freddie Collins will replace managing director Andy Burnett on his retirement. Kidde is a member of the United Technologies Corporation (UTC) alongside brands such as Chubb fire and security systems, Carrier heating and air conditioning, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines and UTC Power fuel cells. This year is Kidde’s centenary and the company continues to innovate while developing and manufacturing extensive ranges of fire safety products including carbon monoxide, smoke and heat alarms. “Throughout his 13 years at the company Andy Burnett set a high benchmark in driving the company forward,” said Mr Collins. “All of us at Kidde thank him for his tireless commitment and wish him well for the future. I am committed to continuing his work in providing first class safety products and the highest quality service for specifiers, customers and trading partners.”


Mr Collins has been with Kidde for 10 years and UK sales director for the past four. In that time he has diversified and strengthened the customer base, forged a strong and committed sales team, grown sales and developed partnerships with key trade customers.


Speaking to DIY Week, Chris Abbott said that she “nodded off peacefully in her favourite chair” which he added was a small comfort to the family and meant she avoided having to spend the final weeks of her life in hospital. He explained that, after being told that Vivienne’s illness was terminal on Christmas Eve, the family “had a really fun year, doing all the things she wanted to do and making every day count”. She was able to spend precious time with her two grandchildren, William and Amelia.


The Abbott family have been


overwhelmed by the response from the industry since the news of Vivienne’s death broke. “We have had so many emails and cards sent,” said Chris. “It’s amazing. I think we’ve had a card from nearly every shopkeeper south of Edinburgh. It has been a massive comfort to us and it’s so wonderful to see how well she was thought of.” Abbotts DIY was established in 1979 by Vivienne’s husband Tony Abbott and his father Alec. Prior to Alec’s death in 2003 there had been three generations of the Abbott family working alongside one another. Tony and Vivienne were both very active within the DIY industry, the British Independent Retailer Association (BIRA) of which they were members, and within their local community. Following Tony’s untimely death in 2012, Vivienne continued to run and build the business along with her sons, bagging the Hardware Retailer


of the Year title at the DIY Week Awards in 2016. “That was the pinnacle of what the three of us had achieved with the business together,” said Chris. Vivienne was chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Ottery St Mary on three occasions and due to take up the presidency of BIRA this year, having served as vice-president – a role Chris said she was “really looking forward to”. He added that Vivienne had been extremely disappointed she was unable able to fulfil


Bromborough Paints director gives his all for charity


Finance director Giuseppe Alfonso took on gruelling sporting challenges and fundraising activities this year in aid of several charities. Mr Alfonso decided that 2017 would be his year to retire from competitive sporting challenges and took on four tough trials. The first was White Collar Boxing, which comprised three rounds in a ring with a nine-week intensive training regime, during which time he lost 16 lbs in total to get fight ready. Crown Paints generously sponsored trophies for the challenge.


The second challenge was the Dulux revolution, cycling just under 200 miles in two days with a base camp, over a weekend,


after which he was left making the 210-mile drive home with “aching limbs”. Mr Alfonso then took on the BTR Tour of Merseyside, running 52 miles, with six races in seven days. This kicked off with a half marathon on day one and finished on the seventh with a 12-mile run – all of which Mr Alfonso completed in seven and a half hours. Initially he raised money for The Outward Bound Trust and local hospice Wirral St. Johns but just before the Dulux Revolution Mr Alfonso’s wife Cathy was diagnosed with bowel cancer. “While undergoing treatment


she received wonderful care from a number of charities including Maggie’s, MacMillan


Decco appoints Debbie Paterson


Nurses, Wirral Holistic and The Cancer Care Centre at Clatterbridge,” explained Mr Alfonso, adding that his wife asked him to do something for those organisations. You can donate and support Mr Alfonso’s fundraising journey at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ GiuseppeAlfonso


Decco has appointed Debbie Paterson as its area sales manager in Scotland. Based in Decco’s Perth depot Stuart and McIntosh, Ms Paterson will spearhead business development across the territory. She brings to her role


more than 20 years’


experience in sales and sales management with the past six years specialising in DIY, home and garden products through the independent retail sector.


the role due to ill health but said that her achievements and the tributes from people across the industry made him, his brother Jeff and sister Marie, “immensely proud”. Chris and Jeff are now determined to continue their parent’s hard work and legacy. “They are very big shoes to fill!” he exclaimed. Vivienne’s funeral took place on Friday, August 18 at St Mary’s Church in Ottery St Mary, Devon.


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