DIY
The latest news, updates and analysis on the DIY and home improvements segment of the the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Jul- 2021 -15 July
Halfords to hire 700 in recruitment drive
Halfords has set upon a recruitment drive that will see over 700 new staff members across a range of positions added to the group. The available roles at the retailer include vehicle technicians, MOT testers, cycle technicians, auto technicians, store and autocentre colleagues, department supervisors, and management. Following the appointments,…
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15 July
Kingfisher raises guidance as sales rise 22%
Kingfisher has announced it is raising its guidance for its half-year results after reporting that like-for-like sales in Q2 were up by 22.3% against 2019. In light of “high levels of demand” from its customers across retail and trade, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix now expects its half-year profit…
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14 July
ManoMano raises $355m in Series F funding round
ManoMano, a European marketplace specialising in DIY, home improvement, and gardening, has secured $355m (£257m) in a Series F fundraising round. The investment brings the now unicorn retail group’s valuation to $2.6bn (£1.88bn), with the UK acting as the company’s fastest growing market. Led by Dragoneer Investment Group, the round…
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14 July
Dunelm raises guidance amid ‘robust’ Q4 sales
Dunelm has raised its full-year guidance following a period of “exceptionally strong” growth post-lockdown, with Q4 sales soaring 101.7%, or 43.9% when compared to the same period in 2019. In light of its strong sales performance since reopening in April, as well as reporting a higher than anticipated gross margin…
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9 July
First London ‘Little Dobbies’ opens
Dobbies Garden Centres has announced the opening of the first London-based ‘Little Dobbies’, located on Westbourne Grove. This marks the third Little Dobbies to open in the UK, following the success of its first two format stores in Edinburgh and Bristol, and brings Dobbies’ total open stores to 72 across…
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5 July
Hema to close its six UK stores
Dutch homeware retailer Hema has announced it has decided to close all six of its UK stores and exit the market in order to “place a stronger focus on its core markets”. The retailer, which first entered the UK in 2014, said it will close all six of its shops…
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Jun- 2021 -22 June
Travis Perkins Q1 merchanting sales grow 6.3% from 2019
Travis Perkins has announced that its merchanting segment saw total sales between April and May 2021 rise 6.3% when compared to 2019 levels. In a trading update, the group claimed that its strong Q2 performance was also driven by both the domestic and commercial repairs, and maintenance and improvement (RMI)…
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22 June
Victorian Plumbing makes £850m stock market debut
Victorian Plumbing has officially made its stock market debut this morning (22 June) with an initial market capitalisation of £850m. Last week the group confirmed a conditional placing of 4,427,481 new ordinary shares and 109,122,138 existing ordinary shares, at a price of 262 pence per share. Through the placing of…
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16 June
ScS upgrades FY21 outlook amid ‘strong’ trading
ScS has announced that it now expects its full year performance for FY21 to be ahead of market expectations, following a “very encouraging” performance since the reopening of its stores. The group also experienced strong order intake growth over the first 21 weeks of the financial year despite the impact…
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16 June
Made.com debuts on stock market with £775.3m price offer
Made.com has confirmed its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange on 21 June 2021 with an offer price of £775.3m. The online furniture retailer first announced its plans to debut on the market last month with the latest announcement revealing that the IPO has been set at 200…
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