NEWS
Abacus Agents celebrates 21-year partnership with ERA
Independent fenestration component supplier for the trade sector, Abacus Agents, is celebrating its 21-year partnership with leading hardware brand, ERA. For over 30 years, Abacus Agents, which has bases in both Dundee and Glasgow, has been the go-to supplier of hardware and door and window furniture to fabricators and door manufacturers across Scotland. For 21 of those years, Abacus Agents has been supplying customers with an extensive range of ERA products for PVCu and composite windows
and doors, including its high- performance door and window locks, and premium collection of Fab&Fix decorative hardware. Even supplying Fab&Fix before they became a part of ERA’s comprehensive line of fenestration solutions back in 2012. The company, which also supplies weatherseals from Schlegel (part of the ERA’s sister brand) to its varied customer base, attributes the longevity of the partnership to ERA’s quality products and excellent customer service. Abacus Agents also cites the regular training opportunities ERA provides as one of the many
reasons it has partnered with the Midlands-based manufacturer for over 20 years. Arlene Brown, Technical Sales Manager at ERA, said: “It has been a pleasure working so closely with the team at Abacus Agents over the years. It is also great to hear that our customer
GCA’s February BoT figures reflect a wet month with a ‘sunny outlook’
The Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) Barometer of Trade (BoT) report for February 2024 saw clothing romp ahead at +20.9% with catering just behind at +19.55% when compared with the same month last year. Just three of the categories
recorded by the GCA were down when likened to February 2023, according to the figures submitted by its member garden centres.
GCA CEO, Peter Burks said: “Clothing did very well and once again catering produced a very strong performance, continuing its super strong growth. “Overall though, it was a disappointing month for total sales in February, which were only up a touch at + 0.91%. But as was the case all through last year, these figures have been significantly undermined by another poor month for
furniture and BBQs at -29.34%. Houseplants, -17.59%, and hard landscaping -7.86% were also down when compared to last year.
“Plus, it was the wettest February on record with some areas having more than four times their monthly average of rain, which made it impossible to get out on the ground and it was bound to dampen enthusiasm for doing anything
outside. Or even thinking of new garden furniture in readiness for entertaining outdoors in the spring and summer. “But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, all other categories were up, suggesting general trade was actually quite good. On the whole, the outlook is sunny, despite the grey clouds overhead.”
Jamie Oliver encourages the nation to get barbecue ready
Chef and restaurateur, Jamie Oliver has partnered with Weber barbecues to release new barbecue recipes to encourage the nation to move away from basic burgers and bangers and have more fun with big flavours when it comes to outdoor cooking. Turning up the heat on
people’s barbecue skills, Jamie’s new recipes, which, on the Weber Genesis Gas barbecue and Weber Master-Touch Charcoal barbecue, are certain to get people to fire up their grills all year round, with intense,
smokey flavours that can’t be replicated in the kitchen. Jamie’s mouthwatering recipes show that when it comes to outdoor cooking, the possibilities are endless..
The partnership comes after
a Weber survey of 1,716 people found that 77% immediately associate good weather and outdoor moments with friends and family when they think about having a barbecue. But, as the survey shows, the nation would love to barbecue all year-round if they had the right knowledge and recipes.
In a bid to inspire more people
to realise their full barbecue potential, the partnership will show the many benefits of year- round barbecuing, from helping to bring people closer together, to connecting more with what
Tile Mountain to open new showroom in Peterborough
Tile Mountain Group has signed a 10-year lease on two trade counter units totalling 15,600 sq ft to open a new tile and bathroom showroom at Bourges View in Peterborough.
Following the completion of the lease, Tile Mountain Group
4 DIY WEEK MARCH 2024
will use the two units as its 10th showroom in the UK and its first trade showroom within the Cambridgeshire region. Headquartered in Stoke-on-
Trent, Tile Mountain Group is a tile, bathroom and flooring outlet that operates online and from nine other showrooms
nationwide. Bourges View is a 200,000 sq ft roadside development delivered by developer Chancerygate and specialist sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management. The scheme comprises three drive throughs, a self-storage
unit, nine trade counter and nine industrial and warehouse units ranging from 2,800 sq ft to 34,500 sq ft.
they’re cooking as well as showing how it can be more efficient and tasty than traditional cooking methods. Talking about his passion for barbecuing, Jamie said: “I love barbecuing. There is nothing more satisfying than firing up the coals whether it’s spring, summer, autumn or winter and enjoying the distinctive, smokey flavour that you can only get from a Weber barbecue. I want to encourage people to totally reimagine barbecuing and the world of flavour and opportunity that awaits.”
service and quality products are some of the main reasons that the team have partnered with ERA as one of their main suppliers for such a long period of time, because as our customers will know, we pride ourselves highly on their experience with our customer service team and the products we supply.” Joe McHaffie, Continuous
Improvement Manager at Abacus Agents, said: “ERA not only provides an extensive product range that meets the latest industry standards, but the team also go the extra mile to ensure we are supported.”
Kingfisher drives e-commerce growth with new marketplace launch
Kingfisher has announced the launch of a home improvement e-commerce marketplace at Castorama France, the latest milestone in the rapid development of its marketplace offer.
The launch follows the success and rapid growth of Kingfisher’s marketplaces at B&Q in the UK, Brico Dépôt in Spain and Portugal and its Koçta joint venture in Turkey.
Castorama France will
introduce over 500,000 new products from verified third-party merchants onto its e-commerce channels. This represents a sevenfold increase in the product choice available for the banner’s customers, complementing the c.70,000 products already available directly from Castorama. All third-party merchants will be selected by Castorama experts and undergo a thorough verification process to ensure they meet Castorama’s quality and ethical standards.
The marketplace allows
merchants to raise their profile through association with Castorama’s well-known and trusted brand and benefit from a presence on its high-traffic website, which attracts between 10 and 15 million visitors per month. Merchants will also be able to access retail media solutions offered by Kingfisher. The marketplace leverages a scalable Kingfisher technology platform built in conjunction with partners at Mirakl, the industry’s leading enterprise marketplace platform. Kingfisher is preparing to launch a further marketplace harnessing this technology at its Castorama Poland banner later this year. Marc Vicente, Group Digital
Director at Kingfisher said: “The launch is a great example of our Powered by Kingfisher strategy in action. With the support of the Group’s marketplace technology and expertise, Castorama France has been able to build a compelling offer, tailored for the needs of its customers.”
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