Dairygold to open 30 homeware stores
Woodies, Atlantic Homecare, Home Base and B&Q are the main players in the sector where Dairygold has a €50m (10%) share.
The new chain of franchise and company stores aims to have a turnover of €100m within three years, establishing it in the top three of the DIY/homeware market.
Dairygold’s first new 4Home store will open in Mallow, Co Cork, at the end of July. Three further co-op superstores at Raheen in Limerick, Carrigaline, Co Cork, and Annacotty in Limerick will begin operations under the 4Home brand during September.
An additional three 4Home franchise stores will open by the end of the year and a further six existing Dairygold co-op superstores will transfer to the 4Home brand during 2005. The co-op envisages that by the end of 2006 the 4Home brand will extend to include 20 franchise operations and 10 company owned 4Home stores. Dairygold will continue to operate its agri-trading division at its existing co-op superstore outlets and through a network of existing agri-trading stores in Munster under the Dairygold brand.
4Home managing director Simon Healy said the company will invest €30m over the next three years opening 30 stores and creating 600 jobs in the process through both company and franchise outlets.
A key facet of the 4Home offering will be its own branded range of DIY/homeware products. This high quality and competitively priced range of products will deliver real value to customers as well as providing an opportunity to franchise outlets to leverage the strength and potential of the brand.
The range will cover everything a householder might require of a DIY-hardware-garden store, all under one roof. 4Home Stores will be designed to be both customer and family friendly and will apply the highest standards of merchandising to clearly defined departments allowing customers to find what they want and need quickly and easily. Heavy emphasis is being placed on staff training. Research revealed that consumers want to visit their local hardware or DIY store as much for advice and helpful hints as for actual purchases. But they find this absent in the major chains.
"We will take the expertise and helpfulness associated with traditional Irish hardware stores and combine it with the product choice, range and value associated with the major multiples to deliver a compelling customer proposition,” he said.
“The franchise model will provide a state-of-the-art IT system specifically designed for this industry,” he added.
