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| Type | Retail, DIY |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Crewe, England |
| Products | Decorating, tools, building materials, kitchen and bathrooms, lighting and electrical. Gardening, outdoor and indoor plants. |
| Parent | Cerberus Capital |
| Website | http://www.focusdiy.co.uk |
Focus DIY is a privately owned chain of DIY stores in the UK. It serves the light DIY market sector, and most stores have some form of garden centre. As part of a major business move, the first quarter of 2009 saw most stores re-fitted with Pet Supplies, Household goods (cleaning materials etc) and housewares. Its main competitors are B&Q and Homebase. It is the third largest DIY retailer in the UK and in 2005/2006 saw profits of £42.7m against sales of just over £700m[1]. The company had 178 stores in the UK as of January 2009.
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History
Founded by Bill Archer and Greg Stanley (who had previously built up and sold DIY Chain Fads) in 1987 Focus increased its market share with a mix of both acquisitions and organic growth including the purchase of the Do It All DIY chain from Boots in 1998. Both chains were rebranded as "Focus Do It All". In 1999 following the takeover of Wickes, a DIY chain focused on building supplies, the group became known as Focus Wickes, although the two distinct retail formats and identities were retained.
Focus later purchased the Great Mills chain from RMC Group in 2000. These stores were re-branded as Focus, except for some that became Wickes. A later move eventually saw all non-Wickes stores rebranded as Focus ("Focus for DIY and Gardening"), although the official company name is Focus (DIY) Limited. Following these acquisitions Focus became the number two DIY retailer in the UK with over 400 stores split between the Focus and Wickes chains.
During the early part of the 21st century, some former Great Mills and Do It All stores were refitted and in 2005, the Wickes business and stores were sold to Travis Perkins.
The new Focus
Cerberus Capital purchased Focus DIY for £1 in June 2007 and appointed Bill Grimsey, formerly CEO of Wickes, as CEO.[2] Following the acquisition a number of under-performing stores were sold to Homebase, Wickes, Tesco or Sainsbury's while others were closed.
Supply chain
As of November 2008 Focus has 1 main distribution centre, in Tamworth
The Tamworth centre was acquired with the Do It All business in 1998. The closure of the Severnside distribution centre was announced in October 2008, citing adverse financial circumstances.[3]
References
- ^ Focus DIY sold for £1 | Business | guardian.co.uk
- ^ "Acquisition of Focus (DIY) to be completed". 2007-07-24. http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/page/acquisitionoffocusdiy. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ 1,300 Jobs Axed As Crisis Spreads
External links
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