Wickes

Wickes

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1972
Headquarters	Watford, England, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Simon King, Managing Director
Products	Do it yourself Home improvement Garden Supplies Kitchens & Bathrooms
Operating income	£70m (approx)
Parent	Travis Perkins
Website	www.wickes.co.uk

Wickes is a British home improvement retailer and garden project centre, based in the United Kingdom and owned by Travis Perkins, with more than 230 stores^[1] throughout the country. Its main business is the sale of supplies and materials, for homeowners and the building trade.

The company also trades in the kitchen and bathroom market, in which it has extensive ranges from budget take away kitchens and bathrooms, to more bespoke professionally designed kitchens and bathrooms. This company should not be confused with Wickes Furniture, a former United States based furniture store chain; however, both companies used the same red and blue "W" logo.

History

Wickes store sign

Wickes was founded by Henry Dunn Wickes, in Michigan, United States in 1854, and in 1972, Wickes Corporation, along with British builders merchant, Sankeys, opened its first store in the United Kingdom. By 1987, Wickes was trading from 41 locations, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

In August 1996, serious accounting irregularities were uncovered. In November 1996, Bill Grimsey was appointed CEO, to oversee its recovery from the scandal, that saw its share price suspended and the banks foreclosing.^[2] Grimsey launched a rights issue,^[3] started an employee share scheme, and turned around the company to the point where it was bought by Focus-Do-It-All, backed by Duke Street Capital, in September 2000.^[4][5]

Wickes grew from 131 stores in October 2000 to 172 in March 2004, including the re-branding of 36 Focus DIY stores. In December 2004, Focus Group sold Wickes to Travis Perkins.^[6] The sale was completed in February 2005. In October 2007, Wickes acquired seven stores from Focus DIY, after Cerberus Capital took it over, in June 2007 for £1,^[7] these stores were in Glossop, Mansfield, Penrith, Bulwell, Plumstead, Dumfries, and Hereford.

Wickes store in Hull

In May 2011, it was announced that Wickes had purchased thirteen stores from the appointed administrators of Focus DIY, Ernst & Young, saving 345 jobs.^[8] By 2016, the company now owns over 222 stores, all throughout the United Kingdom.

Regional Operations

South Africa

In 1994, Wickes embarked on a joint venture in South Africa, with Federated Blaikie, which saw six Wickes branded stores open in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Following the financial troubles the parent company encountered, the venture ended in 1997. Shortly afterwards, the Wickes name was removed from all stores in South Africa.

Mainland Europe

The Wickes brand had ventured into some Northern European nations such as (Belgium, France and the Netherlands). However, in 1996, after financial irregularities were uncovered, Wickes management believed that the only way to survive the troubles was to concentrate solely on their United Kingdom operations. In 1997, all mainland European operations were sold to the French DIY Chain Bricorama.

Ireland

In April 2009, Wickes started an expansion into Ireland, opening its first franchised Irish store in Limerick.^[9] In February 2013, this franchise relationship ended, with the store closed down.

Product range changes

In June 2009, Wickes completely pulled out of the fitted bedroom market, and dedicated extra store space to an expanded kitchen and bathroom range instead. In 2012, they started extending their range, offering beyond own brand products, by stocking a selection of trade brands including: Makita, Bosch, Rawl, Speedfit, Stanley and Velux.

References