With Do-it-for-me showrooms remaining closed throughout the quarter, which included the key winter sale period, the recently developed digital DIFM journey enabled Wickes to maximise the opportunity available in the market, the retailer explains. DIFM like-for-like sales in the first quarter declined by 25.0 per cent on a delivered basis, and orders through the winter sale period were down by around 50 per cent.
Travis Perkins is currently in the process of selling the Wickes chain. This demerger process "remains on schedule to be completed at the end of April, leaving the business a simplified and trade focused group," CEO Nick Roberts commented.