NEWS


Koi Carp worth £7k stolen from Squire’s


Ten extra large koi carp and one sturgeon were stolen from the display pond at Squire’s Garden Centre in Badshot Lea near Farnham on Friday, March 10.


Intruders broke in late in the evening and took the fish, which are worth a total of £7,725. The carp are between 22” and 26” in length, and had been selected in Israel for their quality by Squire’s Pets and Aquatics manager. They were then imported to the centre for the display pond. Squire’s deputy chairman Sarah Squire said, “We


all absolutely devastated that this theft has happened, and are very concerned about the welfare of the fish, as they require a large pond or facility with well-filtered oxygenated water. Pet welfare is at the top of our agenda at Squire’s. We urge people to come forward if they have any information.” The story of the stolen carp


affected one young customer in particular. Five-year-old Harry Morgan was so upset about


the fish, he decided


to draw ‘missing’ posters to try and help find them. As a thank you, the staff at Squire’s invited Harry and his parents to come and have a private tour of their Pets & Aquatics Centre followed by a complimentary cream tea. The garden centre is now displaying one of Harry’s posters next to the tank from which the fish were stolen. Said Harry’s dad Steve Morgan, “Harry was absolutely devastated about the missing fish. He loves coming to see them at Squire’s Garden Centre, so he spent all evening drawing missing posters. He really enjoyed his afternoon at Squire’s and was very excited to get the chance to handle some of the animals.” Harry, who attends All Saints


Infant School in Tilford, added, “I hope the fish come back.” Anyone with any information about the theft is asked to get in touch with Surrey Police on 101.


Chichester independent DIY shop to close after almost 60 years


The owners of family-run hardware shop David Messam Ltd of Chichester have made the tough decision to close down due to rising Brexit-related costs, tough competition from the internet and out-of-town retailers as well as dwindling footfall. Originally a haberdashey and corset shop, the business was purchased by the grandparents of current proprietor Keith Messam back in 1948, with his grandfather selling all the thread


and haberdashery and


his grandmother taking care of ladies’


are undergarments. When


his grandfather passed away, Mr Messam’s grandmother rented the shop to Keith’s father David in 1959, who gave the shop his name and, when Jay’s Hardware closed down, established the business as a tools and hardware store. Mr Messam explained: “When grandma moved out, we decorated and strengthened


the building, fitting girders


throughout. My mother and father purchased the shop at this time, then opened up the upper floor for hardware key cutting and security, with tools downstairs.” Keith Messam took over the


shop himself in 1977. In 1999 he married Lesley, whose interest in jewellery and silver clay led to the cellar’s re-purposing as a bead and jewellery supply trove. “Even with all these supplies,” explained Mr Messam, “We have hit on harder times recently. Turnover has reduced year on year [so] now we have had to make the decision to close the business. “Brexit is costing the business stock costing more, the


with


internet is taking all the sales are we are being used as a showroom, not a shop. Also, we have had several large out- of-town retailers set up with free parking all taking some sales and making it harder to make enough profit to pay the bills.”


B&Q opens its first


Kingfisher retailer B&Q, famous for its warehouse- style, out-of-town outlets, has opened its first high street store, at 482, Holloway Road, London. The


store was football officially


opened by ex-Arsenal player and


School choir, who pundit Martin


Keown on Friday, with the help of children from Graton Primary


performed for the ceremony. B&Q Holloway Road’s unit manager Andy Williams said, “We’re absolutely delighted to be bringing B&Q to Holloway


Road’s high street. Our launch week is


set fun and


to be great we


are delighted to The have


Martin Keown officially open the store.


events


are a great chance for us to welcome the local community in to the store and share our team’s expertise and ideas.”


Footballing legend Martin Keown helped officially open the new high st B&Q


Mr Keown added, “B&Q’s timing is absolutely perfect – some might say Arsenal are in


need of a bit of a fix up right now, so it’s great to have a local high street DIY store so close to the Stadium.”


Screwfix wins customer experience award Kingfisher-owned retailer


Screwfix has won an award for customer experience at the recent Retail Week Awards. Screwfix won the


The koi carp are over half a metre in length


www.diyweek.net


Teleperformance Customer Experience Initiative of the Year at the awards ceremony, which took place on March 9. The retailer was praised by judges for its ‘Simply Better Service’ initiative, which drives constant customer service improvements across all business channels including in store, over the phone and online. Screwfix’s ‘Simply Better Service’ initiative took a look at customers, store staff and behind-the-scenes systems to understand and develop new procedures


to enact higher


Chanterlands DIY displays iconic Hull


David Messam Ltd has been trading since 1959, but has been in the Messam family since 1948


He added that customer loyalty


remained high, saying: “We have a great customer base [who will] miss the city centre shop that has everything that you can’t buy anywhere else, but we are always


the last hope, never the first. “We will obviously miss our


staff who are mainly family but have worked for the business for many years. They are all loyal, hard-working and friendly.”


small-format high street store ‘Dead Bod’ image


The Screwfix team were rewarded for the ‘tangible improve- ments’ made as a result of the Simply Better Service initiative


standards of convenience for time-pressured trade customers. Changes brought about as part of the initiative include longer operating hours for stores inside the M25 and quicker transaction times in store.


The judges praised the tangible


improvements made as a result of the initiative. They also applauded Screwfix for continuing to deliver outstanding service to its core professional customer base and its holistic and seamless operation.


The owner of Chanterlands DIY and Hardware in Hull has decided to recreate the famous Hull Dead Bod icon on the shutters of his shop as part of a scheme to tidy up the local area. The image of the dead bird was originally painted on the Humber side of an iron shed at Alexandra Dock in the 1960s by Captain Len ‘Pongo’ Rood and Chief Engineer Gordon Mason. The image became a local landmark symbolising the city’s fishing heritage, and was recently restored to become the centrepiece of the new Humber Street Gallery after plans to demolish the shed was revealed. Shop owner Gary Clarke said: “I think it’s a great story of Dead Bod and it’s very, very Hull. If you’re from Hull you know what Dead Bod is and I’m a Hull man.” He added that the move was part of a scheme to tidy up the local area and make it more appealing. “I think it’s proved very popular,” he said, “and I hope it will encourage others to do similar creative things with their shutters.”


31 MARCH 2017 DIY WEEK 3


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