Tommy Walsh: 'I'm really proud of my £1 tools'
Published: 9 February 2015
Tommy Walsh has hit back at DIY retailers who have questioned the quality of a range of
£1 tools he is set to launch at Poundland.
The celebrity DIY expert told diyweek.net that the products were of good quality and that he had engaged professional tradesmen to help with the development of the range.
Poundland announced last month that it had partnered with Mr Walsh - well known for his appearances in television's Ground Force programmes - for the launch of the DIY:Time collection of 200 DIY lines. They include decoration and preparation essentials as well as tools, fixtures, fittings and adhesives.
The products will go into Poundland's 575 stores this spring, all priced at just £1.
However, in a poll run on diyweek.net over a quarter of respondents, 28%, said they were worried that such cheap products would damage the industry's reputation. A similar number, 30%, said they were not worried about the launch because serious DIYers wouldn't buy the products.
Defending the products, a Poundland spokesperson told diyweek.net: "The Tommy Walsh DIY range is aimed at anyone who needs essential items to complete everyday domestic DIY projects. It was created to provide a full range of DIY essentials which are fit for purpose, offer amazing value and are affordable to everyone.
"As you would expect, Tommy has had huge involvement with this project. All items have been fully assessed by him, and his suggestions for improvements to products and range additions have been fully adopted, so we have full confidence in the quality of the products."
And Mr Walsh added: "Working with Poundland was a great opportunity to make DIY more affordable to a mass of people, who can least afford to pay professionals to do the work for them.
"We've been working with Poundland as a team for over a year now, developing and testing the range to produce good quality products at the lowest possible prices.
"I'm really proud of what we've managed to achieve. In actual fact, I've involved professional tradesmen during this whole process, who have found the range outstanding value for money."
And, certainly, a significant number of respondents to diyweek.net's poll are taking the launch seriously. Along with the 28% who thought the tools would damage the industry's reputation, 23% said they thought it would take business away from them, while 19% said they would now try to be more competitive.