| Mary Portas  Good for value and, surprisingly, service.
Bad for some departments would benefit from a visit from the style police.
As I write this, the late spring sunshine has finally made an appearance. Britain is hotting up, in every sense. One retail group whose expectations of the spring bank holidays regularly exceed everyone else’s are the DIY retailers and garden centres, which refer to the two key dates in May as the 'twin peaks’ of their selling year, as these weekends drive so much of their annual sales. I read that one garden centre claimed the recession had encouraged Britons to take refuge in the colour, simplicity and tranquillity of their gardens. If you watch television over a bank holiday weekend, you’ll notice in every ad break that the competition for our custom is ferocious, with deals ranging from 10 to 60 per cent off everything. Focus DIY, B&Q and Homebase are the three biggies, and therefore the most aggressive players in the sector, although the former is perhaps the least well known. To me, in any case – until today.
The windows The Uxbridge store is on a miserable – if highly accessible – road between the M40, the M4 and the M25. Equally depressing is the store itself, which from the outside is about as inviting as Guantánamo Bay. A few random plants and posters reassure me that I am not an unwilling victim of 'extraordinary rendition’ by a garden centre.
Shopability The functional, boring shopfit features all your expected departments: decorating, furniture, tools and materials, lighting, flooring and so on. Within seconds of entering, I spied a brilliantly priced six-seater garden furniture set reduced from ￡350 to ￡149.99. Unlike a lot of the stuff I see in garden centres, this one appeared stylish, solid and unfussily designed. My business partner has been on the look-out for one for ages so, kindly soul that I am, I made a beeline…
Was I being served? …only to find that a boxed-up seven-piece garden set won’t easily fit into the back of a Toyota Prius. Quick as you like, the cheery, rosy-cheeked lady behind the till grabbed one of her 'lads’ and got him to unpack the lot, piece by piece, and help me take it out to the car. The transaction went from potential disaster to exemplary service that in no way reflected the price of my purchase.
What’s new? This probably isn’t the season for new; it’s the season for deals – although I did notice a new range of plants available for home delivery on the website.
Good value? This was my first time at Focus and, in all honesty, it did feel like better value than its rivals. Apart from the 50 per cent off garden furniture, there were fruit trees at 'buy one get one half price’, 25 per cent off barbecues, 60 per cent off bathrooms and a Flymo lawnmower for ￡49.99.
I was particularly impressed by Focus’s own-brand 'Payless’ line and snapped up the cheapest sacks of compost I have ever seen at ￡2.89 a bag.
Online All of the deals appear to run on the shop’s website, too, with a special offer of 10 per cent off everything all summer if you spend ￡50.
Verdict Focus isn’t a place that you would want to visit for style inspiration. Nor is it a fun day out for all the family. But what it delivers, in spades, is value. The biggest surprise of the day came in the service experience. Service is one thing this sector delivers very haphazardly. B&Q could claim to lead the sector with its 'friendly builder’ approach, yet it was here that I enjoyed one of the best levels of service I have experienced in yonks. When the sun’s out and I have been invited to my business partner’s for lunch, I shall not be letting on that the table we are eating off cost less than ￡150 – though I may share the story of how I bought it. Clever brands know that the word of mouth created by delivering good service is ultimately the easiest and fastest way to drive sales.
Focus DIY 217 High St, Yiewsley, Middlesex
Visited Saturday, 2pm
Number of stores 181
What they sell Tools, decorating supplies, kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, electrical, gardening equipment, plants
Website focusdiy.co.uk
Who’s in charge? Bill Grimsey, chief executive
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