The Irish number 1

The undisputed market leader in the Irish home improvement market is a home-grown company: Woodie's DIY. It celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018.
Until a couple of years ago it was not certain whether Woodie's would be marking this milestone in an upbeat mood, because even as market leader it was battling the effects of the recession ten years ago.
However, the latest figures look good. Growth of 7.4 per cent in 2017 saw sales hit the 200-million-euro mark, and last year the company grew by 8.8 per cent.
According to the parent company Grafton Group, which acquired Woodie's a year after it was established, the main reason for the satisfactory development has been its transformation programme. This has been associated not least with the new management team installed in 2013.
In the view of industry expert Steve Collinge of Insight DIY, writing in The Hardware Journal, the official magazine of the Hardware Association Ireland: "The change which we believe has had the greatest positive impact on the business is the repositioning of the Woodie's brand." Collinge is referring to the new claim "We're all Homemakers". The in-store experience has been improved with "softer, more approachable features". Ultimately the aim was also to formulate a better appeal to women as a key target group.

As a result, the warehouse style was dropped and the shelves made deeper. The range of goods was improved in consultation with the suppliers, with greater choice and better value for the customers, according to Collinge's analysis. Naturally Woodie's could not fail to invest in its online offering, a must in the year of 2018, and subject its website and shop, now with 30 000 products available, to a relaunch. Both a direct delivery service and click and collect are now offered.
Another aspect regarded as key is investment in the workforce. An employee recognition service along with internal training seminars that raise the consultancy standard at the same time has evidently improved motivation. At any rate, the scores in the assessment by the consultants at Great Place to Work have increased markedly.
With all these actions in place, Steve Collinge believes the traditional Irish firm to be in good shape. His verdict is that Woodie's is "a…