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Focus 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 are B&Q and Homebase. It is the third largest DIY retailer in the UK and in 2003 had a turnover of £1.6bn. The company has over 200 stores in the UK.
Focus' chairman is Bill Archer, and the current CEO is Steve Johnson.
History
The company was founded in 1987 by Bill Archer and has since increased it's market share with a mix of both aquisitions and organic growth.
Focus bought the Do It All DIY chain from Boots in 1998. Both chains were initially rebranded as "Focus Do It All", before returning to the Focus brand following the takeover of Wickes, a DIY chain focused on building supplies. The group became know as Focus Wickes, although the two distinct retail formats were retained.
Focus later purchased the Great Mills DIY chain from RMC in 2000. These stores were re-branded as Focus, except for some that became Wickes. Some under-performing Focus stores were also converted to the Wickes format.
The Wickes stores were sold to Travis Perkins in 2005.
External links
"Focus (DIY)"