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£1,500 worth of fish stolen from garden centre

Thieves escape with fish, including 10 Koi Carp after raid on Maidenhead Aquatics at St John's Garden Centre. 
19 August 2009

BRC says 'scrap VAT on eco-friendly white goods'

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) believes the Government is "working against its own objectives" for reducing carbon emissions by charging full VAT on green domestic appliances. 
17 August 2009

Staff stage sit-in protest at Irish DIY store

Employees at 4Home Superstores in Co Cork took part in protest over redundancies after it was announced store was to close the next day. 
17 August 2009

John Lewis sales hit by warm weekend

Saturday's sunshine proved too tempting for shoppers as the department store chain experienced a 5.3% drop in trade for the week ending August 8. 
14 August 2009

Allied Carpets closes 142 stores

Allied makes 850 redundancies after administrators fail to find a buyer for the ailing carpet chain. 
14 August 2009

Clas Ohlson signs contract for Reading store

Swedish 'usefulshopp' set to open new 1,900 sq m branch in main shopping area of town. 
13 August 2009

Everbuild doubles vehicle fleet

Building products manufacturer doubles the size of its fleet of branded articulated vehicles to meet European demand. 
13 August 2009

UPDATED: Croydon DIY retailer prosecuted for underage knife sale

DIY Den fined £715 after selling knife blades to two schoolgirls in council sting operation. 
13 August 2009

Armed raid at Barton Grange

A garden centre employee was tied up and the manager held at knifepoint in an early morning attack on Monday, August 10. 
12 August 2009

Grey skies boost DIY over summer

Wet weather and discounting turn homeowners' focus indoors, increasing sales of homewares and furniture. 
11 August 2009

Armour Garden opens new showroom

New kid on the block opens 100 sq m outdoor furniture showroom in Hindley Green, Manchester as part of its 'aggressive' pursuit of market share. 
11 August 2009

Obituary: David Messam

Founder of David Messams in Chichester passed away August 9 after 50 years in the industry. 
10 August 2009

Bayer Garden appoints new head

Former head of business planning Colin Golding takes the helm. 
10 August 2009

Loan availability improves for UK businesses but at what price?

Firms finding it easier to obtain new credit for the first time this year, despite 50% reporting a rise in finance costs and the continuing struggle for trade credit insurance. 
10 August 2009

Home sales up for John Lewis on back of 'staycation' trend

Department store chain experiences boost in sales of furniture, lighting and textiles, as well as big ticket items, thanks to increase in footfall as people holiday at home. 
7 August 2009

51% of businesses are still considering redundancies

Survey by British Chambers of Commerce finds that one in two firms plan to make redundancies over the next six months. 
7 August 2009

Focus pursues CVA to shed unprofitable leases

DIY chain in talks with creditors over deal that could save around £12m a year from non-trading properties. 
6 August 2009

The colour of money

Colour trend research by Akzo Nobel reveals that people's choice of colour is influenced by the state of the economy, with neutral tones favoured for interiors during a downturn. 
5 August 2009

Rise in footfall signals ‘welcome step forward’ for retail

Synovate records an encouraging year-on-year increase in non-food footfall, with July up 8.4% on previous month. 
5 August 2009

Topps Tiles sees 9.9% revenue drop

Tile and flooring specialist reports a further sales fall of 0.3% on half-year results, following the release of its latest interim management statement. 
5 August 2009
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