Ydna Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Out of interest, can anyone think of any other 80s-era Home Improvement Store brands? So far I've thought of Homebase, Tempo and Wickes. It's for the factory units on the backscene of my exhibition layout. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 4630 Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2012 Out of interest, can anyone think of any other 80s-era Home Improvement Store brands? So far I've thought of Homebase, Tempo and Wickes. It's for the factory units on the backscene of my exhibition layout. Thanks. Do It All B&Q Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 FADS, Great Mills, Focus DIY? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoovernut Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Texas though Im not sure "improvement "is the right word The big one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Fatadder Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 15, 2012 The Texas logo is on wikipedia, I'm pretty sure I've seen the original Homebase logo somewhere as well. One thing to think about is that a lot of these 80s DIY stores had quite a distinctive curved edge to the roof, there are older branches of Homebase and B&Q that date from the period. (Including at least one Homebase store in Scotland which still has the Texas red/blue flashes on the outer wall Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Reid Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Dodge City - well at least till 1980 when the Scottish company was bought up by B&Q... Perfect for cowboys! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ydna Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 FADS, Great Mills, Focus DIY? Thanks for your comment. Focus would be perfect. Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I think Focus and DIY were originally separate brands. In Bromborough there was a Marley store (may have been Marley Tiles) that became a DIY store, then Focus DIY, then (Sainsbury's) Homebase. It's now a Tesco Home store. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2012 Texas were the biggie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I think Focus and DIY were originally separate brands. In Bromborough there was a Marley store (may have been Marley Tiles) that became a DIY store, then Focus DIY, then (Sainsbury's) Homebase. It's now a Tesco Home store. Now you mention it, I remember a Marley in Bedford - it was definitely a full d.i.y. store, not just tiles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted March 15, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2012 Do it All was set up by WH Smith at the height of the DIY craze, with Boots countering by seting up Payless. Focus didn't exsist untill the early 2000s and was a rebranding of the remains of the Do It All and Payless chains long after they had mereged in the late 90s with all stores trading as Do It All. FADs was still going back in the 80s and I beleive was bought by Boots at some stage ending up as part of the Do It All group when Boots pulled out of DIY. Texas was bought out by Homebase I believe in the recession of the 90s Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 But it still has a plaque in St James showing where it's embassy was... Texas may have had its faults as a store, but I'll not hear a word against their self adhesive draught excluder, of which I still have most of the last roll remaining that must be thirty some years old. (Bought a very draughty house in 79...) Sticks like the proverbial to a shovel, never loses its bounciness... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Do it All was set up by WH Smith at the height of the DIY craze, with Boots countering by seting up Payless. Focus didn't exsist untill the early 2000s and was a rebranding of the remains of the Do It All and Payless chains long after they had mereged in the late 90s with all stores trading as Do It All. FADs was still going back in the 80s and I beleive was bought by Boots at some stage ending up as part of the Do It All group when Boots pulled out of DIY. Texas was bought out by Homebase I believe in the recession of the 90s Focus were a privately owned chain founded in 1982, they merged with Do-It All in the late 90s and for a while, owned Wickes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 MFI Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted March 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 16, 2012 One thing to think about is that a lot of these 80s DIY stores had quite a distinctive curved edge to the roof There might be some regional variation then - all the B&Q, Do it All and Texas stores I remember (some of which are still standing) all had square edges hiding pitched roofs. Take a look at the junction of Yorkshire Street and Whitworth Road in Rochdale using Bing mapping's bird's eye view. You'll find a B&Q (red) and former Texas store (now green). Happy modelling. Steven B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 MFI The original flatpack merchants. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Paul Madeley`s DIY had stores throughout yorkshire, the midlands, cornwall and devon. Form the ex leeds united player which sold off to B&Q in the 80`s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 When did Great Mills start? They merged with Do it All (which had already merged with marley/Payless) and became Focus. In the '80s there were still a few independents with big warehouse size stores too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 When did Great Mills start? They merged with Do it All (which had already merged with marley/Payless) and became Focus. In the '80s there were still a few independents with big warehouse size stores too. When i worked for paul madeleys diy in 1983 the was another diy store over the road called DIY INTERNATIONAL like the kingfisher group before group companies took over, I forget the parent name switching company that owned great mills, focus,diy international, international diy. on paper they appeared as different companies but if a store started doing badly they closed it down just renamed made out a new company now owned it, as you say most brands disapeared and focus became the fuller name. Which now the norm these days the 1 company is parent to many other companies. As these days you never know who owns who lol edit: I think the OP is going to need a much bigger layout to fit all these company names in LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Odd this should come up, I still have a yellow plastic one metre rule - I was using it this afternoon in fact - marked TEXAS HOMECARE THE BIG ONE Texas price 99p A QUESTION MARK PRODUCT ?. It must be at least 30 years old since it was bought in Lincoln when I was at Waddington, and I went there in April 1979 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 MFI was one of the biggest around that time and had stores everywhere. They started in the 1960s grew into maybe the largest player but ceased trading a few years ago. The brand has recently been relaunched as an online trader. If you look up them and the other home improvement stores on Wikipedia you'll find their logos. Another large one was Magnet - which might have been trading as Magnet & Southern at that time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Wickes were in Lincoln at the same time as Texas - we used to get a little booklet through the door anout once a month, advertising sheds and tools! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted March 17, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 17, 2012 For a change from DIY "sheds", the first B&Q was in an old cinema building: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cinesaint/4150116432/ The site is now under a road but their current shed is across the street. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonB Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 "Wickes" were certainly here in the Midlands in the early 80s, as were "Magnet and Southern" who we thought were overpriced at the time. (Tight wads!!) There's many a carpet seller worked out of redundant chapels Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Magnet Southerns Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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