Great Mills (DIY)

Great Mills

Former type	Public company
Industry	Retail DIY
Successor	Focus DIY
Founded	1972
Defunct	2000
Products	DIY Tools Paint & Decor Outdoor Living Gardening
Parent	RMC Group plc (1979–2000)

Great Mills was a large DIY chain, consisting of around 98 stores across the United Kingdom. In December 2000, the business was bought by Focus DIY, which ironically entered administration in May 2011, with all stores closing by July 2011.

Most Focus DIY stores have been bought, some by B&Q, Wickes & B&M Bargains (B&M Homestore). However, some stores (Rogerstone & Paulton) the latter being the first Great Mills, have been left empty.

History

Great Mills storefront

Unfortunately, most of the information concerning Great Mills and its history has been erased from the internet over time. Originally known as Clapton Building Supplies, the store was founded in 1972, by Tony Blackburn, a staff of four, and a unwell Dulux Dog.

The store managed a modest turnover of £50,000, but within six months, the turnover had doubled. The small but enthusiastic staff of four soon realised their customers were more domestic than trade, and they began to identify the emerging home DIY market and the beginnings of the DIY craze in the United Kingdom. The company began to expand, opening stores in Poole, Trowbridge & Exeter, and renamed itself "Old Mills", after the original location, where the Old Mills colliery was located in Somerset.

In 1979, the 14 strong Great Mills Warehouse chain of stores was bought out by the multi-national RMC Group. The next year saw a further eight stores added. It was at this point, the company began trading under the name of Great Mills DIY Superstores. With the backing of RMC Group, more sites were acquired and by 2000 the company had grown to 90 stores trading as Great Mills DIY Superstores and five as the low budget No Frills.

In the early 1990s, Great Mills launched Bay6 (Basics), These stores were identical in size, look and layout to Wickes. In 1995, Wickes bought the 6 Bay6 stores from Great Mills'parent company, RMC. (Four were already trading, two were under construction.)

An important step forward for the company came in 1992, with the introduction of a central distribution method of delivering products to its stores. This saved many motorway miles as deliveries were co-ordinated rather than having hundreds of suppliers delivering to the same store each day. By 2000, over 70% of the product range was delivered by the Great Mills fleet, two or three times a week.

In July 1997, to further reduce distribution costs, a new 'Central Distribution Centre' was opened. The purpose-built development was fully automated, and operated computer systems to monitor stock control, and to make sure deliveries were made on time to stores.

In December 2000, Focus DIY, a rival DIY chain, bought out Great Mills. The stores were all externally rebranded, though some kept parts of the interior Great Mills branding.

In May 2011, Focus DIY entered administration. Some of the Focus branded Great Mills stores were sold, others were left empty. The original flagship Great Mills store in Paulton stood empty since the closure until June 2015 when work began to transform it to a Wickes store opening on October 7th 2015. Offices opposite the original store served as the headquarters for the Great Mills company, but stood largely empty after the Focus acquisition. The former offices mainly used as storage for Focus DIY equipment, and also for a small part, as a call centre for the same company. The office building is now part of the Somer Valley Enterprise Park.

The main points about the chain listed on the company's website in 2000 were:

• First store opened in 1972.
• Celebrated 25th Anniversary in 1997.
• 3,500 employees.
• 3.3 million square foot of selling space.
• Over £300 million turnover.
• Expanding market share.
• 90 stores nationwide.
• Over 20,000 products in range.
• Centralised Distribution Centre.
• Investors In People Award.
• Committed to company wide Environmental Strategy.
• Extensive NVQ (National Vocational Qualifications) training programme.
• Sponsored a football league in the South West known as The Great Mills League.

In January 2015, Great Mills, Paulton, was purchased by Wickes, which was owned by Focus DIY, from September 2000 until December 2004, being sold to Travis Perkins. The sale was completed in February 2005.

References

Sources

• Great Mills - History at the Internet Archive