NEWS Houzz collaborates with Dulux Trade


“Our Houzz Pro visualisation tools were developed to


help


Houzz, the online platform for home renovation and design, has announced a collaboration with Dulux Trade to embed its unparalleled colour portfolio in new visualisation tools within Houzz Pro, the all-in- one business management


Wickes


and marketing solution for residential construction and design professionals. As part of this engagement, Dulux Trade will provide paint colours for the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner and Mood Board tools.


design and construction professionals communicate their ideas and align with their clients on important project decisions early in the process,” said Alon Cohen, Houzz co-founder and president. “Colour helps homeowners to envision how a space will look and feel post- renovation and feel confident about moving forward with a project. We are excited to provide pros with a premium selection of paint colours through this collaboration with Dulux Trade.” “We are so pleased to be collaborating with Houzz Pro on their new visualisation tools,” said Karen Wilkinson, Dulux Trade Lead. “It’s so important for professionals to have every tool at their disposal to ensure a


smooth design process for their clients, and colour


selection is a key place where homeowners and professionals can really benefit from being able to visualise the end result. By embedding our extensive colour range, designers will be able to bring their customers along on the journey, and really bring their projects to life.” The Houzz Pro 3D Floor


Planner allows pros to create accurate 3D interior schematics which can be presented in walkthrough or dollhouse views to give clients a realistic preview of the finished project. Pros can enter specific wall dimensions and ceiling heights, and resize windows, doors and furniture to match product selections. Floor finishes can also be customised to include a variety of tile, wood flooring and carpet options. Houzz


Pro free


subscriptions are available at houzz.co.uk/pro.


announces strong sales volumes


Wickes Group has provided an update on year to date trading performance and profit guidance. Group Sales have continued to perform strongly, with total like for like growth in the 21 weeks to 22nd May 45.7% ahead year on year, 23.1% on a two year basis against the equivalent period in 2019. Within Core, YTD like-for-like sales were ahead by 53.1% year on year, 46.2% on a two year basis. Trading was notably strong through April, driven by sales volumes in both local trade and DIY and continued to be underpinned by our digital capability. Trading in May has settled back in line with expectations.


Following the re-opening of our Do It For Me (‘DIFM’) Showrooms on the 12th April, we are encouraged by our kitchen and bathroom leads and order pipeline, which is expected to deliver strong like-for-like sales growth in the second half of the year.


Whilst there remains uncertainty in the balance of full year outlook, following stronger than expected YTD core sales growth, we anticipate half year adjusted PBT of around £45m and full year adjusted PBT within the top half of the range of analyst expectations (current range £55m - £74m). David Wood, CEO of Wickes, said: “At Wickes, we are here to help the nation feel house proud, and I am delighted with how the entire business has responded to the continued strong demand for our products and services.”


4 DIY WEEK JUNE 2021 Surge in sales for bathroom products have been renovating their


homes in the last three months, research from Toolstation in its Renovation Nation report reveals that 11% had a new bathrooms fitted as they plan to create a bathroom sanctuary. The report also reveals that 50% had carried out some form of general home maintenance in the last three months, while 52% said they carried out more work than during the lockdown. Greg


Richardson, Head


Toolstation has seen a surge in demand over the past months for


bathroom


products and research reveals that one-in-ten have had bathroom makeovers. They’ve reported huge rises in the sales of digital showers (up by 182%), shower doors (up


by 181%) and shower trays (153%) compared to the same period last year. Brits have also been snapping up smaller products to give the bathroom a makeover,


including bath


filler taps (75%) and basin mixer taps (55%).


Out of the many people that


of Marketing at Toolstation, comments: “As we head into the summer, we’ve seen demand surge for all types of bathroom products from digital showers to taps as customers look to create their ultimate bathroom. Research from our report also suggests that it’s a trend that will continue to grow as the nation looks to invest more disposable income on creating a perfect bathroom space.”


Kingfisher announces new planet and community responsible business commitments


Kingfisher plc has announced key milestones and new responsible business commitments designed to help customers create greener, healthier homes, to fight to fix bad housing and to work to address climate change and inequality. The details are reported in Kingfisher’s latest Responsible Business Report, ‘Our Home, Our World’, which shows that the business has made significant progress with its responsible business priorities during the 2020/21 year. Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer of Kingfisher plc, said: “We’re seeing more demand from customers for sustainable products, and it has been a really exciting challenge for our teams to match that customer appetite with innovative products that help our customers save energy and money. Sustainable home products – such as


LED lighting and chemical-free gardening products, water-efficient taps and energy-efficient power tools – now account for £5 billion of Kingfisher’s sales, a 100% increase over the last decade.” In the past four years Kingfisher has cut operational carbon emissions by 27%. The Group has now strengthened its carbon reduction target, to align with the 1.5°C scenario set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. These plans have now been approved by the ‘Science Based Target initiative’ and put the business among a small number of retailers worldwide to have such a commitment. A new partnership with the Rainforest Alliance has


been established to protect, restore and enable the responsible management of tropical forests. This builds on Kingfisher’s 30-year-long commitment to the responsible sourcing of wood and paper.


What More UK becomes a zero to landfill company


Zero to landfill is a tall order, but with careful planning and organisation


it’s possible.


In just one day, What More manages to repurpose 40 tonnes of ‘single use’ plastic per day. Here’s how they do it. Sending waste to landfill is like sweeping dirt under the carpet, but on a national scale. It hides the problem rather than fixing it. That’s a state of affairs that doesn’t sit well with What More UK. “Businesses exist


to solve trial


problems, not to hide them away” says company Director Tony Grimshaw OBE. “Becoming a zero to landfill company was a necessity for us. We manufacture long lasting, durable plastic housewares. Our products can be reused over and over again, then


they can be recycled.


There’s never any reason why they should end up in landfill.” The best way to stop materials going to landfill is to avoid creating waste in the first place. What More does this through efficient factory design and investment in brand-new machinery. Modern equipment is more efficient. By investing in the latest technology they’ve managed to reduce waste on several counts.


The next step is


to look


at reusing items as much as possible. What More products are designed to be reused over and over again. They’re made of strong and durable materials which makes them long lasting. A Wham toolbox might last your entire career, and then it can be passed on to the next generation.


The biggest contributor to What More’s zero to landfill status is its recycling. This is a company that recycles as much as it can. It’s led them to create several ranges of products made almost entirely from recycled materials. There’s the award winning Upcycled range made from recycled ‘single use’ plastic, and there’s the Recycled range made from post-industrial scrap. These two product ranges have proven so popular that What More has started bringing in scrap from other companies.


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