NEWS


Sofa.com launches new contract collection


The furniture manufacturer and retailer has expanded its commercial offer by launching its first-ever contract collection, with a view to meeting demand from the growing trade and contract market.


Sofa.com explained that the launch, which comprises a wide range of styles and fabrics, has been developed as a direct response to requests from leading designers for a collection that is suitable for use in commercial projects.


The range, which is handmade


to order in eight to 10 weeks, comprises nine best-selling sofa designs with matching chairs and footstools. As well as selling online, Sofa.com operates nine showrooms across the UK in London’s Chelsea and Islington, Bankside,


Bath, Harrogate,


Guildford, Nottingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, plus concessions in 15 House of Fraser stores, including its flagship Oxford Street branch. The business was put up for sale in January this year, as it was potentially impacted by House of Fraser store closures, which led to a number of its own branches being shut down. The business was snapped up by businessman Mike Ashley, who said the acquisition was part of his wider plans for House of Fraser.


Wyevale sells more garden centres


Wyevale Garden Centres has announced the sale of five centres and has closed two. Springfield Garden Centre is being sold to Longacres Garden Centres and Par Garden Centre to Maidenhead Aquatics,


to 37 centres and brings the total number of garden centres bought by Blue Diamond during the WGC sale process to 16. The site will continue to operate as a garden centre and nursery. Webbs Garden Centres’


following its


purchase of Dummer Garden Centre in June 2019. It has also confirmed the sale of Bridgemere Garden Centre and Bridgemere Nursery to Blue Diamond, and Cheltenham Garden Centre to Webbs Garden Centres. The acquisition of Bridgemere


Garden Centre and Bridgemere Nursery increases the footprint of the Blue Diamond brand


purchase of Cheltenham Garden Centre increases their Midlands based operation to three centres. This site will also continue to operate as a garden centre. Both sales are expected to complete by mid-September. Alan Roper, managing


director of Blue Diamond, said: “As a horticulturalist, I am personally so pleased to be acquiring Bridgemere centre and nursery, which I have known


since the 1980’s. I look forward to focusing on its original virtues and to working with our new colleagues at the centre. I would like to thank the team at Wyevale Garden Centres for their support and professionalism throughout this process.” Nigel Long, managing director of Longacres Garden Centres, said: “We are delighted to expand the Longacres group through the acquisition of the Wyevale Garden Centre’s Springfield centre in Chelmsford. Longacres is a multi-generation, family-run business and we are looking forward to bringing our fifth site and new team members on board.”


Online construction materials retailer celebrates 220% growth


Cmostores.com is continuing to see rapid expansion, with 2018 sales jumping 44% - boosted by new acquisitions – and continuing its trend of record growth, with new web stores in the pipeline.


The online construction materials firm, which rebranded as cmostores.com in February, has


recorded exceptional


growth in recent years, doubling in size following an MBO and investment of £8.65million by private equity house Key Capital Partners (KCP) in 2017. The business maintains that its e-commerce model is helping


to grab market share from traditional builders’ merchants and reported that consolidated group revenue rose 220% in


just three years, from


£12.1million at the end of 2015, to £38.6million in the year to December 31, 2018.


During this period, the business acquired Webestores and


launched www.


doorsuperstore.co.uk alongside its existing online web stores: drainagesuperstore.co.uk, insulationsuperstore.co.uk, and roofingsuperstore.co.uk. Cmostores.com chief financial officer Sue Packer said the new website “is flying and will be this


year’s best growth performer”. Cmostores.com is now


predicting further turnover growth to around £50million in the current financial year and reveals it will soon be launching two new superstores.


DIY and garden shoppers favour physical outlets over online


Bricks-and-mortar DIY and garden stores could mop up trade from ailing competitors, as shoppers in the category favour physical outlets over online and convenience tops loyalty.


DIY and gardening shoppers in the UK are most likely to switch to a different retailer’s physical store if the store they normally shop at closes, while relatively few would switch to online or travel to the same retailer’s store in a different location. This indicates a preference not only for physical retail over online, but also for convenience over loyalty to a particular retailer, according to a new report from data and analytics company GlobalData.


www.diyweek.net The data company forecasts


reveal that the UK DIY market is valued at £7.04million in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 1.2% to £7.17million in 2020. UK gardening spend will rise 1.5% in 2019, reaching £4.43million in 2020. GlobalData’s


latest found that physical stores will


continue to be the most popular channel among DIY and gardening shoppers, irrespective of store closures, as 64% would be most likely to switch to a bricks-and- mortar alternative if the store they normally shopped at closed, instead of switching to online. This compares to the average of 60% across all retail sectors.


Screwfix


becomes first ‘official partner’ of Sky Sports Football


survey


GlobalData retail analyst Amy Higginbotham said: “As well as being less inclined to switch to online, DIY and gardening shoppers are also less loyal to a particular retailer than the


average UK consumer. Only 35.5% would stick with the same retailer, whether at a different store or online, compared to the 39.9% average across all retail sectors.”


The thriving DIY and trade business has expanded its six-year relationship with Sky even further by signing a sponsorship deal for the forthcoming 2019/20 season and becoming the first-ever official partner of the Sky Sports Football channel. The seven-figure deal brokered between Sky Media and Wavemaker will see Screwfix exclusively sponsor Sky Sports’ broadcast and digital coverage of the English Football League (EFL), and cement themselves as one of Sky’s longest-standing partners. In a new and broader deal, the omni-channel retailer will also sponsor ‘whistle-to-whistle’ Sky Sports coverage of the Carabao Cup and Scottish Professional League


(SPFL). As well as sponsorship of over 190 live games on Sky Sports Football, the package includes exclusive sponsorship of the weekly EFL highlights show on Quest.


09 AUGUST 2019 DIY WEEK 5 David Lawrence, managing


director of Maidenhead Aquatics said: “Maidenhead Aquatics are pleased to have acquired Par Garden Centre. We intend to run the centre as a traditional horticultural garden centre and very much look forward to welcoming and working with the existing team.”


WGC also announce the


closure of two leasehold garden centres, Potters Bar and Syon Park. Both centres are expected to close in autumn.


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