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Focus DIY in "financial meltdown"
- Thread starter eastlondonseagull
- Start date
Strike
Sussex Border Front
samparish said:As far as I'm aware he still owns Focus. Hope so because I committed a petty act of vandalism at the one in Exeter the other day
Come on Sam tell us what it was?
JJ McClure
Go Jags
Guess that means Sainsburys expanding it's homebase then. Oh well so long as they have a closing down sale.
timco
Well-known member
80's Seagull said:
Sigh........
Homebase was sold by Sainsbury's years ago, to the french I think, some sort of capital venture outfit or a bank or something like that.
Similarly Focus was sold to venture capitalists (indians I think, south asian not red) and I don't think Archole has any part in them anymore.
ben andrews' girlfriend
Nurse Laura
timco said:
youve just brightened up my day - i read it as there are red asians instead of red indians!!!!
(dont ask me why its funny, im poorly today!!!)
Garry Nelson's Left Foot
Well-known member
I'd just like to take this opportunity to say:
Bill Archer is a C.UNT of the highest order. I hope he dies a horrible, long, drawn out, unbearably painful death after everyone he holds dears reject him as an evil scummy bastard.
Bill Archer is a C.UNT of the highest order. I hope he dies a horrible, long, drawn out, unbearably painful death after everyone he holds dears reject him as an evil scummy bastard.
eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #29
Rubbish gear, anyway. Apparently 
the wanderbus
Well-known member
I go to focus regularly, each time I do I either steal or damage goods, & hve done for the last 10 years. I am pleased to know I have helped to contribute to any pain caused to the asset stripping c unt by the fall in profit
Last edited:
Storer68
New member
Yorkie said:
No that was Micky Adams
Storer68
New member
History
We were founded by Bill Archer, our Chairman, and a former business partner in 1987. We have grown through a number of acquisitions, including acquisitions of Do It All Limited in 1998 and Great Mills in 2000. The new businesses were geographically complementary to our existing businesses, with minimal store overlap and a similar strategy of locating stores in market towns. Following these acquisitions, we rebranded all of the stores to the Focus brand. In addition, in September 2000, we acquired Wickes PLC, a business targeting trade customers. Since this acquisition we converted 39 Focus stores located outside our target markets to Wickes stores to improve their profitability.
On 11 February 2005, Wickes Limited was sold to Travis Perkins.
At the beginning of 2003, Steve Johnson was appointed as Managing Director of the Focus business and, in February 2005, became our Chief Executive Officer.
Key Dates:
1987 - Bill Archer and a former business partner acquired Choice DIY Limited, a small DIY retailer with six stores in the Midlands and the North.
1988 - Acquisition of the Focus chain of six DIY stores.All stores were rebranded 'Focus DIY'.
1988-1998 - Company had substantial organic growth, expanding from its base of 12 stores to 72 stores.
1998 - Acquisition of Do It All (Holdings) Limited with 139 stores.All stores were rebranded as 'Focus Do It All' ('FDIA') and Focus became one of the largest DIY retailers in the UK, with 210 stores.
Sept 2000 - Acquisition into the heavy DIY segment with the purchase of Wickes plc and 131 stores.
Dec 2000 - Acquisition of Great Mills with 98 stores further strengthening its position in the light DIY segment.
2001 - All former Focus Do It All and Great Mills stores (other than the seven 'No Frills' stores) were rebranded 'Focus'. Wickes stores continued to operate under the brand name 'Wickes'.
2002 - Focus Wickes group emerged as the 2nd largest DIY retailer in the UK in terms of turnover and had 430 stores (Focus 291 and Wickes 139).
Feb 2005 - Wickes Limited sold to Travis Perkins.
We were founded by Bill Archer, our Chairman, and a former business partner in 1987. We have grown through a number of acquisitions, including acquisitions of Do It All Limited in 1998 and Great Mills in 2000. The new businesses were geographically complementary to our existing businesses, with minimal store overlap and a similar strategy of locating stores in market towns. Following these acquisitions, we rebranded all of the stores to the Focus brand. In addition, in September 2000, we acquired Wickes PLC, a business targeting trade customers. Since this acquisition we converted 39 Focus stores located outside our target markets to Wickes stores to improve their profitability.
On 11 February 2005, Wickes Limited was sold to Travis Perkins.
At the beginning of 2003, Steve Johnson was appointed as Managing Director of the Focus business and, in February 2005, became our Chief Executive Officer.
Key Dates:
1987 - Bill Archer and a former business partner acquired Choice DIY Limited, a small DIY retailer with six stores in the Midlands and the North.
1988 - Acquisition of the Focus chain of six DIY stores.All stores were rebranded 'Focus DIY'.
1988-1998 - Company had substantial organic growth, expanding from its base of 12 stores to 72 stores.
1998 - Acquisition of Do It All (Holdings) Limited with 139 stores.All stores were rebranded as 'Focus Do It All' ('FDIA') and Focus became one of the largest DIY retailers in the UK, with 210 stores.
Sept 2000 - Acquisition into the heavy DIY segment with the purchase of Wickes plc and 131 stores.
Dec 2000 - Acquisition of Great Mills with 98 stores further strengthening its position in the light DIY segment.
2001 - All former Focus Do It All and Great Mills stores (other than the seven 'No Frills' stores) were rebranded 'Focus'. Wickes stores continued to operate under the brand name 'Wickes'.
2002 - Focus Wickes group emerged as the 2nd largest DIY retailer in the UK in terms of turnover and had 430 stores (Focus 291 and Wickes 139).
Feb 2005 - Wickes Limited sold to Travis Perkins.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,499
From the Focus DIY website: happily, in light of the apparent financial difficulties, it appears he is still Chairman of the company.
Funny how their timeline doesn't include an entry saying "1994-1997: royally screwed a much loved football club into the ground"
Overview
We are the third-largest DIY retailer in the United Kingdom by market share and offer an extensive range of DIY and gardening products, primarily to consumers seeking to undertake light home improvement and maintenance projects. As at 31 October 2004, we operated 256 stores, with a total of approximately 8.2 million square feet of net selling space (including 1.9 million square feet of outdoor selling space) and, on average, approximately 32,000 square feet of net selling space per store.
We aim to be the store of choice and convenience for DIY and gardening products in each of the markets in which we operate. We offer a comprehensive range of own brand and branded products. Our product ranges include decorative products (such as paint and wall coverings), core DIY products (such as tools and building materials), home enhancement products (including bathroom and kitchen units) and gardening and seasonal products (such as plants and lawnmowers). The size and scale of our operations allow us to pursue a competitive pricing policy on our core product offering, which we believe promotes strong customer loyalty.
Our stores are well-distributed nationally, with approximately 60% located in our target markets which consists of market towns (with populations of between 20,000 and 80,000) and edge-of-urban locations.
History
We were founded by Bill Archer, our Chairman, and a former business partner in 1987. We have grown through a number of acquisitions, including acquisitions of Do It All Limited in 1998 and Great Mills in 2000. The new businesses were geographically complementary to our existing businesses, with minimal store overlap and a similar strategy of locating stores in market towns. Following these acquisitions, we rebranded all of the stores to the Focus brand. In addition, in September 2000, we acquired Wickes PLC, a business targeting trade customers. Since this acquisition we converted 39 Focus stores located outside our target markets to Wickes stores to improve their profitability.
On 11 February 2005, Wickes Limited was sold to Travis Perkins.
At the beginning of 2003, Steve Johnson was appointed as Managing Director of the Focus business and, in February 2005, became our Chief Executive Officer.
Key Dates:
1987 - Bill Archer and a former business partner acquired Choice DIY Limited, a small DIY retailer with six stores in the Midlands and the North.
1988 - Acquisition of the Focus chain of six DIY stores.All stores were rebranded 'Focus DIY'.
1988-1998 - Company had substantial organic growth, expanding from its base of 12 stores to 72 stores.
1998 - Acquisition of Do It All (Holdings) Limited with 139 stores.All stores were rebranded as 'Focus Do It All' ('FDIA') and Focus became one of the largest DIY retailers in the UK, with 210 stores.
Sept 2000 - Acquisition into the heavy DIY segment with the purchase of Wickes plc and 131 stores.
Dec 2000 - Acquisition of Great Mills with 98 stores further strengthening its position in the light DIY segment.
2001 - All former Focus Do It All and Great Mills stores (other than the seven 'No Frills' stores) were rebranded 'Focus'. Wickes stores continued to operate under the brand name 'Wickes'.
2002 - Focus Wickes group emerged as the 2nd largest DIY retailer in the UK in terms of turnover and had 430 stores (Focus 291 and Wickes 139).
Feb 2005 - Wickes Limited sold to Travis Perkins.
Funny how their timeline doesn't include an entry saying "1994-1997: royally screwed a much loved football club into the ground"
Overview
We are the third-largest DIY retailer in the United Kingdom by market share and offer an extensive range of DIY and gardening products, primarily to consumers seeking to undertake light home improvement and maintenance projects. As at 31 October 2004, we operated 256 stores, with a total of approximately 8.2 million square feet of net selling space (including 1.9 million square feet of outdoor selling space) and, on average, approximately 32,000 square feet of net selling space per store.
We aim to be the store of choice and convenience for DIY and gardening products in each of the markets in which we operate. We offer a comprehensive range of own brand and branded products. Our product ranges include decorative products (such as paint and wall coverings), core DIY products (such as tools and building materials), home enhancement products (including bathroom and kitchen units) and gardening and seasonal products (such as plants and lawnmowers). The size and scale of our operations allow us to pursue a competitive pricing policy on our core product offering, which we believe promotes strong customer loyalty.
Our stores are well-distributed nationally, with approximately 60% located in our target markets which consists of market towns (with populations of between 20,000 and 80,000) and edge-of-urban locations.
History
We were founded by Bill Archer, our Chairman, and a former business partner in 1987. We have grown through a number of acquisitions, including acquisitions of Do It All Limited in 1998 and Great Mills in 2000. The new businesses were geographically complementary to our existing businesses, with minimal store overlap and a similar strategy of locating stores in market towns. Following these acquisitions, we rebranded all of the stores to the Focus brand. In addition, in September 2000, we acquired Wickes PLC, a business targeting trade customers. Since this acquisition we converted 39 Focus stores located outside our target markets to Wickes stores to improve their profitability.
On 11 February 2005, Wickes Limited was sold to Travis Perkins.
At the beginning of 2003, Steve Johnson was appointed as Managing Director of the Focus business and, in February 2005, became our Chief Executive Officer.
Key Dates:
1987 - Bill Archer and a former business partner acquired Choice DIY Limited, a small DIY retailer with six stores in the Midlands and the North.
1988 - Acquisition of the Focus chain of six DIY stores.All stores were rebranded 'Focus DIY'.
1988-1998 - Company had substantial organic growth, expanding from its base of 12 stores to 72 stores.
1998 - Acquisition of Do It All (Holdings) Limited with 139 stores.All stores were rebranded as 'Focus Do It All' ('FDIA') and Focus became one of the largest DIY retailers in the UK, with 210 stores.
Sept 2000 - Acquisition into the heavy DIY segment with the purchase of Wickes plc and 131 stores.
Dec 2000 - Acquisition of Great Mills with 98 stores further strengthening its position in the light DIY segment.
2001 - All former Focus Do It All and Great Mills stores (other than the seven 'No Frills' stores) were rebranded 'Focus'. Wickes stores continued to operate under the brand name 'Wickes'.
2002 - Focus Wickes group emerged as the 2nd largest DIY retailer in the UK in terms of turnover and had 430 stores (Focus 291 and Wickes 139).
Feb 2005 - Wickes Limited sold to Travis Perkins.
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,499
Dear Mr Archer
I couldn't help noticing that your company appears to be experiencing some problems with debt lately.
If I may be so bold, allow me to make a few suggestions which might help to alleviate the situation?
First, sell all your stores, for a vastly undervalued price. Just before doing this, it might be a good idea to take out any nasty clauses from the company rules which prevent you from profiting should Focus DIY unfortunately go to the wall. Then, announce to all your customers and staff that from now on, the stores will be moving to Sweden and Luxembourg, to share premises with the Kakke and Scheisse DIY chains. Tell them that if they really were loyal customers, they'd go to Stockholm for their white emulsion and 2x2 every time.
Maybe think about appointing a PR genius as your new Chief Exec- former politicians are always good at handling fallout from these sticky situations. Make sure you deny any accusations of asset stripping from those miserable customers!
I hope these are of some use to you during this difficult time. If you find yourself down to your last million, give us a call, I'm sure we'll be delighted to chuck you a few coppers
Yours sincerely...
I couldn't help noticing that your company appears to be experiencing some problems with debt lately.
If I may be so bold, allow me to make a few suggestions which might help to alleviate the situation?
First, sell all your stores, for a vastly undervalued price. Just before doing this, it might be a good idea to take out any nasty clauses from the company rules which prevent you from profiting should Focus DIY unfortunately go to the wall. Then, announce to all your customers and staff that from now on, the stores will be moving to Sweden and Luxembourg, to share premises with the Kakke and Scheisse DIY chains. Tell them that if they really were loyal customers, they'd go to Stockholm for their white emulsion and 2x2 every time.
Maybe think about appointing a PR genius as your new Chief Exec- former politicians are always good at handling fallout from these sticky situations. Make sure you deny any accusations of asset stripping from those miserable customers!
I hope these are of some use to you during this difficult time. If you find yourself down to your last million, give us a call, I'm sure we'll be delighted to chuck you a few coppers
Yours sincerely...
Lawro's Lip
New member
dcseagull said:
That would be justice. Shame about his workers though.
Lawro's Lip
New member
I could buy some shares. Is £56.25 enough?
portlock seagull
Well-known member
- Jul 28, 2003
- 17,609
Unfortuntely the only thing certain about Focus's demise is the poor sods lower down the their employment ladder will suffer.
Archer's hardly going to be touched by this, he's made his money and gone.
Archer's hardly going to be touched by this, he's made his money and gone.
Barry Izbak
U.T.A.
the wanderbus said:
and you're not the only one. I've never bought anything in the f***ing place, but I have visited the stores in Burgess Hill, Hove and Birmingham in the past twelve months.
I once met the bastard in a hotel in London and told him that I planned to be at his funeral, and that I hoped it would not be too far off.
A Seagull never ever ever forgets
227 BHA
Well-known member
Tis true - he sold up and got out a while ago.
Somehow he always manages to avoid the shit and come out smelling of roses
I expect his loyal staff to be the ones who suffer just like we did while he goes away and counts his millions
Somehow he always manages to avoid the shit and come out smelling of roses
I expect his loyal staff to be the ones who suffer just like we did while he goes away and counts his millions
eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #40
edna krabappel said:
