Do It All
Do It All was a British do it yourself and home improvement retailing company. It went through a number of changes of ownership. The business was sold to Focus DIY in August 1998 which entered administration in May 2011, with all stores closing by July 2011.[1]
| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail DIY |
| Founded | December 1963 |
| Defunct | September 2001 |
| Fate | Acquired by Focus DIY to be rebranded as Focus Do It All in 1998, before being absorbed into parent company in 2001. |
| Successor | Focus DIY |
| Products | DIY Tools Paint & Decor Outdoor Living Kitchens Bathrooms Gardening |
| Parent | WHSmith (100%: 1978–1988, 50%: 1988–1996) Boots Group (50%: 1988–1996, 100%: 1996–1998) Focus DIY (1998–2001) |
History
WHSmith acquired the business of LCP Home Improvements on 31 December 1978. The acquired company which had been formed in December 1963 was renamed W.H. Smith Do It All Limited on the same date, and traded thereafter as WHSmith Do It All.
Trading as LCP Homecentres before the acquisition the business was itself the product of the merger between two do it yourself chains, Big K and Calypso, which were bought by LCP (Lunt Comley & Pitt) as a cash generator for their industrial group which had been formed following the nationalisation of the coal mines.
Do It All sold a range of over 25,000 do it yourself products, including paint, wallpaper, tools and power tools, and construction materials such as plywood and chipboard. All stores had an inhouse timber cutting service, and all but the smallest had in store concessions such as the store in Bury, Greater Manchester, which included floorspace for Harris Carpets.
During the 1980s, fierce competition and the choice to not acquire new stores saw the chain struggle. It was merged with the rival chain Payless DIY in April 1988, which was owned by the Boots Group. One example of their lack of new store acquisition was their choice to not take space in the newly opened Merry Hill Shopping Centre, based upon the belief that trading out of another location in Netherton and Brierley Hill was the better option.
One further example of this policy relates to a site in Christchurch, Dorset. Opposite the colossal “Somerford Housing Estate” at the eastern end of the bypass of Christchurch was a small industrial estate. One of the companies located there closed down which was called Revvo Castors, and the site was offered to Do It All.
Their analysis of the site was that it would not be profitable based upon the assertion that; “people in council houses do not spend money on DIY”. That site was subsequently developed by Great Mills, and it became far and away their most successful store. Other similar decisions resulted in them falling far short of the expansion rate achieved by B&Q, which ultimately was one significant cause of their downfall.
Following the merger with Payless DIY, WHSmitth and Boots each owned 50% of the combined group, and the stores of Payless DIY were rebranded under the Do It All brand. Fortunes did not improve, however. After periods of substantial losses on 12 June 1996, WHSmith sold their share in the company to Boots for the token amount of £1, giving the latter full ownership.[2]
Fate
Boots, wanting to concentrate on its core pharmacy businesses, on 20 August 1998 sold the 139 stores to Focus DIY for £68 million.[3] The stores were initially rebranded under the name Focus Do It All, the first stores being converted being in February 1999 before being rebranded again in September 2001 as simply Focus following the company’s acquisition in December 2000 of Great Mills, whose stores had already been converted under “Focus (For DIY & Gardening)”.[4]
Focus DIY acquired Wickes in September 2000, and some former stores of Do It All were converted to Wickes, mostly in areas felt to be outside the core market.[5] The name Do It All vanished from high streets, shopping malls and retail parks soon afterwards. Focus sold Wickes to builders’ merchants Travis Perkins in December 2004. The sale was completed in February 2005.[6]
The brand Payless DIY was revived in September 2008 as part of Focus DIY’s autumn advertising campaign; “Do More, Payless”.
References
- "Focus DIY to close 120 stores". www.ft.com. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- Cope, Nigel (12 June 1996). "WH Smith pulls out of Do It All at cost of pounds 63m". London: The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
- "Do It All sale costs Boots pounds 312m - Business, News". London: The Independent. 20 August 1998. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
- "Great Mills goes to Focus for £285m". telegraph.co.uk. 7 December 2000. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- "Focus Do-It-All's £285m takeover bid is an attempt to buy Wickes 'on the cheap'". independent.co.uk. 31 March 2000. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- "Travis Perkins to buy DIY group Wickes for £950m". building.co.uk. 7 January 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2020.