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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Feb- 2019 -13 February
Ikea trials furniture leasing
Swedish furniture retailer, Ikea, has announced it has begun trialling an environmentally-friendly leasing scheme in one of its Swiss stores. Alongside the trial, Ikea has introduced programmes which will see waste reduced, with customers returning old beds and sofas which are then donated to charity by the Swedish retailer. Ikea…
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Jan- 2019 -30 January
B&Q found to have leaked details of 75,000 thieves
B&Q has been found to have leaked details of 75,000 shoplifters including vehicle descriptions and full names. The leak was found by security researcher Ctrlbox Information Security, which said the details were leaked on to the internet without password protection. The group said B&Q had removed the sensitive data and…
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3 January
Home Bargains becomes latest retailer to announce a ‘quiet hour’
Home Bargains has become the latest retailer to announce a ‘quiet hour’ in order to create a calmer environment for customers with autism to shop in. The initiative is being carried out in partnership with the National Autistic Society, and will see all music switched off in its stores each…
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Dec- 2018 -5 December
Travis Perkins contemplating future of Wickes brand
Parent company Travis Perkins is contemplating the future of its Wickes brand as it seeks to “simplify its business to improve returns”. Following a comprehensive review of the business announced it July, the board of Travis Perkins concluded that the group will focus on “serving trade customers through advantaged businesses…
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Nov- 2018 -22 November
Ikea’s ‘business transformation’ leaves 350 UK and Irish jobs at risk
DIY giant Ikea has announced that 350 jobs, out of the 12,100 UK and Ireland roles, may be made redundant during the next two years as part of its ‘business transformation’. Ikea’s owner, Ingka Group, said its transformation plan is “assessing all parts of the organisation” and is simplifying it…
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2 November
B&Q abandons Black Friday promotion
B&Q has announced it is “abandoning” Black Friday in favour of providing its customers with “year-round” low prices across the store. The DIY retailer is sticking with its everyday low prices model, which went store-wide with a £100m investment from July this year and has been in place on kitchens…
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1 November
Carpetright announces HY trading to be ‘heavily impacted’ by restructuring
Carpetright has said trading in its half-year update for the 26-week period ending 27 October was “heavily impacted” by the company’s restructuring which included 67 store closures. It said like-for-like performance remained negative in this second part of the period however “there was an improvement in the trend, as the…
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Oct- 2018 -30 October
Sofa.com to replace ScS at House of Fraser
Furniture specialists Sofa.com is set to introduce its products to seven House of Fraser outlets, replacing some of the ScS concessions. Sofa and carpet retailer ScS announced it would pull its concessions from House of Fraser by January 2019 as the company said the partnership was “no longer beneficial” following…
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25 October
ScS to pull concessions from House of Fraser
Furniture and floorings retail chain, ScS, has announced it will cease trading within House of Fraser stores in its trading update for the 12 weeks ending 20 October 2018. The group said due to developments with House of Fraser over the last few months, it believed the partnership was “no…
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11 October
Ikea reports strong growth in retail sales for FY 2018
Flat pack furniture retailer Ikea has reported a 4.7% increase in retail sales to €38.8bn (£33.9bn) in its full year 2018 report. The company opened 12 new Ikea stores, including its first in India, and customer visits to its 367 stores increased by 3% (838 million visits) in 2018 while…
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