One of Britain’s biggest building industry suppliers said yesterday that it was embarking on a review of its whole business after a slump in sales at its Wickes DIY chain.
Travis Perkins said that it had been hit by the wider decline in consumer spending in Britain, with waning demand for big-ticket purchases such as new kitchens and bathrooms hitting Wickes especially hard.
The builders’ merchant, which also owns the Toolstation hardware brand, warned that profits would be lower than expected after Wickes suffered a 7.7% fall in its like-for-like sales in the past six months compared with the same period last year, while profits at the chain shrunk by £14m.
