Grafton investing €500,000 in Chadwicks brand this year

Grafton Merchanting, the owner of the Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley brands, intends to invest €500,000 in its Chadwicks brand this year with further investment planned for 2019.

Grafton Merchanting ROI – an arm of the Dublin-based listed company Grafton Group – will begin a store upgrade with six branches due to be completed by the end of this year and a further six to be upgraded next year.

Earlier this year the company also upgraded Heiton Buckley branches and, asked by The Irish Times whether the company was considering one brand, chief executive Patrick Atkinson said the company is "doing some work" on brand consolidation which will be complete by the end of this year.

Noting his “preference was for one brand” Mr Atkinson said the refresh is about “making it easier for the customer to do business with us”. He added that there has been no investment in these shops in the last 10 to 15 years.

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Established in 1902, Chadwicks has 18 branches nationwide. The upgraded stores will see a “more accessible store layout, open counters where customers can touch and try products and digital signage with the latest product information and offers on display”.

Mr Atkinson added that the company is investing in its people and training, “to ensure that our customer service and product knowledge remains a key differentiator in this sector”.

"We also recognise the need to pipeline new talent and this month sees the launch of our Builders Merchant Traineeship. We have partnered with the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board for this initiative, which we plan to roll out nationwide next year," he said. The company anticipates it will take on 20 trainees across their Dublin branches as part of the programme.

With the construction sector in growth mode, Mr Atkinson said the company’s outlook “is very strong”.

“We hope to get high single digit growth over the next couple of years,” he said.