Giant DIY outlet aims for blanket coverage

British DIY chain B & Q is to open its first warehouse outlet in Ireland in Newry later this month.

"Warehouse" isn't simply a catchy name for the new store on the Damolly Retail Park, because this DIY store is vast - certainly by Irish standards. It has 100,000 sq feet including a 15,000 sq. ft garden centre. B & Q says it will stock over 40,000 different products from light-bulbs to bricks. The Newry opening might go some way in cheering up B & Q management who earlier this month were thwarted in their plans to open a similar-sized operation in the South when An Bord Pleanala decided to refuse planning permission for a major retail ware housing park near Swords, in north Dublin. It is believed that the largest unit in the proposed park was to be a 100,000 sq. ft B & Q.

The board's refusal was seen as the first real test of the new retail planning guidelines. Now B & Q has come to terms with the new space restrictions and is believed to be considering taking 60,000 sq. ft in the new retail warehousing being built either near Blanchardstown Town Centre or Liffey Valley.

B & Q is not a name readily familiar to Irish DIY enthusiasts but it is the UK's biggest home improvement retailer with nearly a fifth of the DIY market. The Newry warehouse will be the company's 287th store. B & Q is now part of Kingfisher plc which also includes Woolworths, Superdrug, Comet and the French electrical retailer Darty. Kingfisher has merged B & Q with Castroma, the major DIY retailer in France and together they make Europe's biggest and the world's third largest DIY operation.

There are already five other B & Q stores in the North, all of which have opened in the last 10 years.

The Newry warehouse will not only have double the product range it will also stock building materials and so should appeal to the building trade. However, opening such a large operation in Newry, which in itself is a relatively small town, would seem to be a gamble. "Newry is a bit of an experiment," says company spokesperson Lorain Coutts. B & Q's 39 other outlets attract up to 18,000 shoppers a week who are willing to travel for up to 40 minutes to reach the store. For its Newry store, the company is extending the catchment to 60 minutes and is starting to mail-drop catalogues in that hour's drive radius. They will also be providing a weekly delivery service to Dublin, clearly signalling that they welcome and expect Southern shoppers.

In the UK, B & Q is known for its progressive staffing policy with profit-related pay and a share-save scheme. It puts a heavy emphasis on employing staff who are over 50 years old and in a pilot project in two of its stores, in Macclesfield and Exmouth, each was staffed only by over 50s. This was such a success that the company has launched an over-50s recruitment drive for the Newry store.

It is also piloting a disability awareness programme in Newry which if successful will be implemented in B & Q outlets elsewhere. As part of the programme, electric wheelchairs are being made available for use by customers and an audio-loop system has been installed for people with hearing difficulties.

Planners in the South are certain to look at the B & Q experience in Newry - and how it affects smaller DIY shops in a 60-mile catchment area - while well-established DIY players such as Woodies will be keeping an even keener eye on the latest retail invader from the UK.