- Focus (DIY)
Infobox_Company
company_name = Focus DIY (For DIY and Gardening)
company_
company_type =Retail ,DIY
foundation =1987
location =Crewe ,England
industry =Retail ,DIY
products = Decorating, tools, building materials, kitchen and bathrooms, lighting and electrical. Gardening, outdoorand indoor plants.
parent =Cerberus Capital
homepage = http://www.focusdiy.co.ukFocus 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. Its main competitors areB&Q andHomebase . 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 [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/jun/18/privateequity2 Focus DIY sold for £1 | Business | guardian.co.uk ] ] . The company had 180 stores in the UK as of June 2008.History
Founded by
Bill Archer and a former business partner in 1987 Focus increased its market share with a mix of both acquisitions and organic growth including the purchase of theDo It All DIY chain from Boots in 1998. Both chains were rebranded as "Focus Do It All". In 1999 following the takeover ofWickes , 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 [Readymix Corporation Group|RMC] 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 was temporarily 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 June2007 and appointed Bill Grimsey, formerly a director for Wickes, as CEO. Following the acquisition a number of under-performing stores were sold toHomebase ,Wickes ,Tesco orJ Sainsbury while others were closed.upply chain
Focus has 2 main distribution centers, one in
Tamworth and another inSevernside .The Tamworth centre was acquired with the Do It All business in
1998 . The Severnside centre was set up for Great Mills. In 2002, the supply chain was altered so that the Tamworth centre served Northern stores, with Severnside serving southern stores.Fact|date=August 2008References
External links
* [http://www.focusdiy.co.uk Official Website]
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