Focus value range brings home £1m in first month

DIY retailer Focus has generated sales of more than £1 million from its new value range Payless since launching it four weeks ago.

The retailer said the range accounts for more than 3 per cent of total sales and expects it to turn over £500,000 a week by the end of the year.
"It will be a £25 million brand annually," said Focus chief executive Bill Grimsey. "It's been a massive success, above expectations, and it is still growing."

There are 131 Payless SKUs in stores at present, which will increase to 200 by the beginning of December. A further 700 will be added when the second phase of the launch kicks in by Easter.

"Our customers are responding to this launch" said Grimsey. "We've hit the nail on the head. We predicted our customers would demand value and devised the range in nine weeks.

"Consumers are definitely responding to value-based propositions. We've done the right thing."

Last week Focus sold 250 Payless sheds and 8,000 Payless paint products. The Payless storage box is the top seller to date – 32,000 were bought last week alone.

Last month the retailer said it wanted to become the "Lidl of DIY" with its Payless products. The range could eventually represent 20 per cent of all sales.

Payless is being promoted via black and white ads in national newspapers, carrying tag lines including "Screw the recession" and "Keep the doom and gloom from the bathroom".

Separately, the retailer is pushing ahead with its store refit programme – six shops will have been overhauled by the end of the year. Focus said about half of its 181 stores could be refitted and the remainder partially refreshed.

By January, Focus will have made cost savings of £8.2 million after the 750 redundancies announced earlier this month.