Plus for Woodie's and Atlantic Homecare

The Irish Grafton Group, which operates the two DIY retail formats, Woodie's and Atlantic Homecare, as well as five in-house businesses in Ireland, announces a 15 per cent increase of its DIY business for a total of € 147 mio. As the group explains, although the competition has expanded over the past two years as the result of a growing number of new store openings, this has been counterbalanced by favourable market conditions. Woodie's has further consolidated its leading position in the Irish DIY market with two new openings (Castelbar and Navan). August saw the inauguration of the chain's 25th outlet in Nenagh. The emphasis in the 16 Atlantic stores has primarily been on lowering costs and increasing efficiency.