News Focus DIY Administration

[Uara]

Well it looks like another company is going down the drain. Having now asked for permission to appoint E&Y as administrators! Another 4000 jobs at risk.

BBC News - Focus DIY seeking administration

 

[Ch3tan]

Never heard of them, guess they are a northern thing? Still good luck to their staff, especially with Deloitte as administrators. My experience of them from woolies was not great.

 

[Uara]

I think they are all over the country, I know there's one in my town (SW england). It would mean yet another empty (big) store as Alworths has just gone under as well. Not the biggest DIY company in the Country but still up there I believe.

 

[Ch3tan]

Can't say I've seen any in London.

 

[Sparx]

My uncle is a manager at one of their stores i hope he is ok

 

[old.user4556]

I was in Focus DIY last night and was cursing them because they have every single type of Crown gloss paint except the fecking type I needed. I muttered that they didn't deserve to be in business.

Oh look.

 

[- English -]

Its funny because my friend was telling me yesterday he got tomato, pepper, cucumber and chilli plants from there for ... 10pence!!! no wonder they are going out of business for selling them so cheap.. even the poundshop cant match it.

 

[JingleBells]

There's one back home, not seen one in Manchester - all B&Q here. Used to be called Do-It-All, not sure why they didn't keep the name when they were bought by Focus

 

[Ch3tan]

Its funny because my friend was telling me yesterday he got tomato, pepper, cucumber and chilli plants from there for ... 10pence!!! no wonder they are going out of business for selling them so cheap.. even the poundshop cant match it.

They were either clearing stock, or they were not in prime condition. There is a massive, massive margin on plants, which is why retailers will sell them off at such low prices. They are also perishable, so it's better to let them go and make some money, than write them off and make nothing.

 

[- English -]

They were either clearing stock, or they were not in prime condition. There is a massive, massive margin on plants, which is why retailers will sell them off at such low prices. They are also perishable, so it's better to let them go and make some money, than write them off and make nothing.

perhaps clearing stock, but its also prime time to sell plants, which mades no sense. I have a picture he sent me to prove them, they are 10cm or so high, good condition. Whats the excuse of selling them off? why would they not be in good condition? surely they are only going to get taller etc as time moves on, and if they are diseased, they should not be selling them.

 

[Ch3tan]

To make way for new stock maybe, out of growing season for that plant, poorly trained staff? The possibilities are endless. However I wouldn't say it's a sign of trouble for them as you did.

 

[DocWolfe]

There's one where I am in Woking and I've seen another one on the way into London on the train... so they are in the south.

 

[dysfunction]

Can't say I've seen any in London.

Thats cos most of them have closed down ages ago!

 

[Raven]

Last time I went into one it had none of the things I wanted, I went into B&Q and was spoilt for choice.

That's pretty much why its gone down.

 

[Zenith.UK]

I took one look at that report and thought "Saw that coming 3 years ago".
The company I work for used to have the IT servicing contract for the Focus estate (all their stores, not the cars!). They dropped the service contract a couple of years ago in an effort to save some cash and we all knew they were having problems staying afloat.

So that means there's going to be another "Everything must go" sale. I could do with picking up some paint, some garden tools and stuff to board the floor of the attic.

Don't think badly of me.

 

[Edmond]

The one near us used to be 'Great Mills' and the other one in Camberley was a 'Do-It-All'

Can't believe you have never seen one Ch3t, but they are very shit, they never have anything and the staff are shit

 

[Ch3tan]

Only get B&Q and Homebase in south London mate.

 

[kiliarien]

Yeah I remember when they changed from Do-It-All. They are definitely in a lot of places; had one near me in Kent and have one near me now in SW Wales.

Lets be honest though, they're all rip-off bastards these DIY places; Homebase is the worst from what I've had experiences with. I bought some contact adhesive (I'll avoid brand names) for £3.89 and got EXACTLY the same brand/volume and applicator down the street for £2.49. That's bloody robbery.

Wickes do stuff cheaper than most of them, though again that's my personal experience. It does make me wonder how well Dulux/Crown etc. will do once all of these pretty looking DIY stores go to the wall.

I will say that one of my relatives is a builder and he gets the same stuff from trade suppliers at ridiculous prices even with VAT added (and I do mean same, as in brands etc. as I said above) and frankly it's a pisstake. There's still plenty of companies trying to rape the private consumer.

 

[Raven]

in Camberley was a 'Do-It-All'

Heh, that's the exact one I was referring to

 

[Gray]

If i recall Focus was a part of the Home Retail Group, which is pretty much Argos and Homebase, but i can't recall what happened after that. We did have one in our town, but a little bit across the road was a B&Q store.

But as part of the regeneration of the local area, the B&Q store relocated... to right next to the Focus store. It eventually closed down and a B&M store took its place.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

HMV will go soon.

 

[dysfunction]

Only get B&Q and Homebase in south London mate.

There was one near the Bromley recycling centre but it closed down about a year ago

 

[Uara]

HMV will go soon.

Aye they've made 3 profit warnings in the not too distant past (and stated they're going to close 60 stores) and potentially with it will go Waterstones unless they can sell it on.
It will be a loss to many a high street but they just can't compete with the online retailers out there.

 

[Raven]

HMV, GAME, Waterstones (unfortunately) will all be gone within 5 years.

None of them seem willing to move with the times.

 

[rynnor]

HMV, GAME, Waterstones (unfortunately) will all be gone within 5 years.

None of them seem willing to move with the times.

Waterstones will be no loss - maybe we will get some of the old bookshops back that actually had stock that wasnt a best seller.

 

[Ch3tan]

Waterstones will be no loss - maybe we will get some of the old bookshops back that actually had stock that wasnt a best seller.

No, we'll be stuck with wh smiths who are far worse than, and have some how managed to stave off administration for the past 10 years

 

[Wij]

No, we'll be stuck with wh smiths who are far worse than, and have some how managed to stave off administration for the past 10 years

WH Smith can still get profits from Train Station, Airport and Service Station outlets where they have a near monopoly and customers who have nowhere else to go. Frankly they should close the high st branches and stop pretending to be a 'proper' bookshop.

 

[ford prefect]

I can only think of two Focus stores, and both of them are on completely empty commercial estates where all the other units are boarded up and have been for years. They carry quite limited stock and a lot of it isn't great quality, having said that I might pop down at the weekend, maybe they will have a sale on

Bad news for the employees though.

 

[rynnor]

I've never heard of them - we have B&Q, Homebase and Wickes locally - maybe thats why they are going into administration...

 

[Ch3tan]

By the way, for those who have shopped in FOCUS stores, when did their stock range and product availability fall? If it was inline with the recession, that would indicate that then insurers pulled their credit insurance, stopping focus being able to buy from suppliers. This has been the death knell of many a retailer, and no one ever points a finger at the insurance companies.