NEWS


DIY Week Awards 2023 - winners announced!


Designed to celebrate excellence and innovation, across the DIY, home improvement and garden sectors, this year’s live DIY Week Awards presentation event took place on 19th May at the Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, allowing the industry’s very best to network and celebrate amongst their peers.


After months of anticipation, the winners of the DIY Week Awards 2023 were announced in front of an excited audience of industry guests and VIPs. The first award of the day was the Decorating Product of the Year, which was won by Avron for their Dekton Smooth & Trim Wallpaper Trimmer & Holder, with Avron, and Victory Colours being Highly Commended. Following on from this was the


Hand Tool of the Year, with Avocet Hardware Group - Greenman Garden Tools/Snip Clips taking


Highly Commended, and the Security Product of the Year was awarded to Squires - Stronghold Padlock Range.


the trophy, as well as ManoMano winning the Digital Innovation Award.


Next up was the Garden Leisure


Product of the Year, with Sumec UK - Yard Force 21W Portable Solar Power Bank taking the win, with Leisure Grow Products being Highly Commended in this category.


For the Retailer Support


Cost of living crisis sees DIY boom continue


A softer housing market and rising cost of living is feeding into the ‘improve, don’t move’ mentality and continues to give DIY a lift; particularly when combined with a flood of inspiration and support on social media. From outdoor kitchens to pergolas and planters, online search queries around do-it-


yourself garden projects are soaring and the market holds serious growth potential. If you hadn’t


considered


expanding your offer with DIY lines before, now is the perfect time to plan a visit to the brand-new DIY sector at Glee 2023 (27–29 June, NEC Birmingham) to explore the opportunities this category


& Marketing Initiative Award, Evergreen Garden Care were the ones to take home the trophy, with DK Tools and Home Hardware Southwest placing as Highly Commended. The Garden Care Product of


the Year was won by Southern Trident - Coco & Coir Houseplant Compost, with Palace Chemicals and J Newsome Tools being


can present to your business. The dedicated DIY sector at this year’s Glee is perfectly geared towards helping retailers tap into the increasing trend for garden DIY and create further opportunities with targeted products that will complement and enhance your existing offer. With over 300 exhibitors


already signed up for Glee 2023, and more brands being added every day, don’t miss your chance to attend what looks set to be an incredible show.


See our preview starting on


The Home & Kitchen Product of the Year went to Future Developments - Air Fryer Genie, with STV International and ZeroWater placing as Highly Commended, whilst Avocet Hardware Group - Greenman Planter’s Spade won the Garden Tool Product of the Year, and the Highly Commended being Charles Bentley & Son and Handy. Next was the Power Tool of the Year which DK Tools - Amtech 600W Mini Circular Saw won, with Avron Trading placing as Highly Commended, whilst B&Q and Egg was awarded the Sustainability Initiative of the Year award, with A Perry placing Highly Commended.


Up next was Avron - Dekton Deko Tool 12-in-1 Folding Decorator’s Tool being crowned


as the DIY Product of the Year, with Bartoline, DK Tools, Gorilla, and QEP Co UK being Highly Commended, as well as the Omnichannel Retailer of the Year, which was awarded to Argos, with B&Q and Homebase being awarded as Highly Commended. The Editor’s Choice Award was given to J Newsome Tools for their 9-in-1 Multi Function Knife. The Retailer of the year (with up to £50m turnover) was awarded to Dad’s Shop, with Dae-It-Yersel placing Highly Commended, whilst the Retailer of the Year (over £50m turnover) was won by UK Flooring Direct, with Brewers being Highly Commended. The last award of the day was the Industry Personality of the Year, which was awarded to Beverley Wood from Home Hardware Southwest. We’d like to thank our incredible sponsors, without whom the event would simply not have been possible: Avron, Benchmark, Bheta, Bira, DK Tools, Home Hardware Southwest. We’d also like to thank everyone who attended the DIY Week Awards and congratulate all of the finalists and winners.


For a full list of winners and


more information, please visit the Awards website at: https:// diyweekawards.co.uk


p9 of this issue for more details and register for your free ticket


now at: www.gleebirmingham. com/visitor-registration.


Kingfisher releases positive first quarter trading update


Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher


4 DIY WEEK MAY 2023


Kingfisher plc recently released its Q1 23/24 sales update that shows first quarter sales of £3.3bn with total sales up by 0.8%. Improved trading since early April; continued resilience in core and ‘big-ticket’ trading and better seasonal sales. Total e-commerce sales grew by 4.7%, representing 16.9% of Group sales. Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer, said: “As we move through our key trading season, we are pleased to see that sales in our core and ‘big-ticket’ categories, which make up over 80% of our total sales, are showing continued resilience. The unusually poor spring weather in the UK and


France affected our seasonal sales in the quarter, impacting demand for items such as garden and outdoor products. We have however seen an improvement in trading since early April, and anticipate a release of some pent-up demand as the weather continues to improve. Our inventory remains healthy and, in aggregate, is reducing in line with our expectations. “We continue to execute our strategy at pace, making good progress across all our key priorities. Screwfix is trading well and seeing particularly strong demand from trade customers, with total sales up 6.5%. The business continues to drive its store expansion plans in the UK, Ireland and France. E-commerce


sales were another highlight in the quarter, up 4.7%. One of the drivers of this is the continued success of B&Q’s marketplace, which reached 27% of B&Q’s online sales in April, a year after its launch. “Across the Group, we are maintaining a sharp focus on competitive pricing, while balancing inflationary pressures. With the continued easing of raw material prices and freight costs, we expect to see lower product cost inflation in H2. “We are comfortable with market expectations for the business this year, and confident in delivering growth ahead of our markets, strong cash generation, and higher returns to shareholders over the medium-term.”


www.diyweek.net


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