Focus (DIY)

Focus DIY (For DIY and Gardening)

Former type	Retail, DIY
Industry	Retail, DIY
Fate	Administration
Founded	December 1987
Defunct	July 2011
Headquarters	Crewe, England
Products	Decorating, tools, building materials, kitchen and bathrooms, lighting and electrical, gardening, outdoor and indoor plants

Focus DIY was a privately owned chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom. It served the consumer DIY market sector, and most stores had some form of garden centre.

At its peak in 2002, it was the second largest DIY retailer in the United Kingdom, although by 2011 it was the fourth. The main competitors were B&Q, Homebase and Wickes. The company operated 178 stores in the United Kingdom with 3000 employees, but had been running losses every year since 2007. In the year up to 2011, the company had a loss of £25 million.

On 4 May 2011, the Focus Group announced that it was going to enter administration; the following group companies went into administration: Focus (DIY) Limited, Focus (Investments) Limited, Payless DIY Limited, Payless Properties Limited, Do It All Limited and Do It All (Holdings) Limited.

The company entered administration on 5 May 2011, with Ernst & Young appointed as administrators. As no buyer was found for the chain as a whole, the company was put into a wind down process. During this period, the administrators sold 55 stores to B&Q, Wickes and B&M Bargains. The remaining 123 stores were closed, in intervals, beginning on 19 June 2011, until the final closures on 22 July 2011.

The company had its origins in the early 1980s, when Mike Williams launched Focus Homecentres for AAH Holdings plc. In December 1987, Focus Homecentres was acquired by Choice Group Ltd. The new company's shareholders included Mike Williams, Bill Archer and Greg Stanley, who had previously built up and sold the DIY chain Fads. Focus increased its market share with a mix of both acquisitions and organic growth. This included the purchase of the Do It All DIY chain from Boots in August 1998. Until 2001, both chains were rebranded as Focus Do It All.

The company added a further 131 stores, with the purchase of Wickes in September 2000, a no-frills DIY chain which focused on building supplies to the trade. This was whilst the existing Focus company had targeted the consumer end of the market. The two store formats were thought to complement each other, and so were retained as separate entities. The group became known as Focus Wickes. The company also considered acquiring Homebase, but decided against it.

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