Last month, Hardware Retailing publisher Dan Tratensek attended the seventh annual Global DIY Summit in Dublin. The Global DIY Summit brings together some of the top industry luminaries from around the world to discuss the home improvement industry, retail, the economy and more. It is truly a high-impact event that anyone—from a single-store operator to the president of a large retail chain—would undoubtedly find valuable.
Part of the trip included a tour of six of Dublin’s top home improvement retail operations. See a gallery of highlights from each store here.
This big-box operation has eight stores in Ireland and more than 1,300 stores worldwide.
B&Q
This location is about 14,000 square meters and features a variety of home improvement supplies, lawn and garden and more.
B&Q
These outdoor living space vignettes include guides to show customers which components they need to recreate the look in their own backyards.
Grange Homevalue
This store is part of the Homevalue Hardware Network, which includes 70 independently owned locations throughout Ireland. They serve both professionals and DIYers.
Grange Homevalue
This location is 2,800 square meters and offers 46,000 SKUs across a variety of building materials, home furnishings, hardware and electrical lines.
HomeBase
This operation has 11 stores throughout Ireland. It carries about 22,000 SKUs.
HomeBase
Each location averages about 4,000 square meters on the salesfloor with an additional 1,000 square meters of garden center.
TileStyle
This single location, family-owned tile and decor business opened in 2008.
TileStyle
The showroom is about 5,000 square meters and includes tile, stone, wood and bathroom fixtures.
TileStyle
Each section of the showroom gives customers an idea of the many possible finishes that can be achieved with tile.
TJ O’Mahony & Sons Ltd.
This privately owned chain of eight stores first opened in 1958.
TJ O’Mahony & Sons Ltd.
The stores average about 1,800 square meters under roof and about 2,700 square meters of warehouse with an average selection of about 30,000 SKUs.
TJ O’Mahony & Sons Ltd.
They specialize in building products and materials, lumber, paint, plumbing and electrical.
Woodie's
With 35 stores throughout Ireland, Woodie’s is the country’s leading DIY home improvement retail chain. The stores average about 5,000 square meters and carry about 40,000 SKUs.
Woodie's
Similarly to B&Q, Woodie's sets up scenes on the salesfloor so customers can see how products can be combined to create a specific look.
Woodie's
The stores also feature lawn and garden areas outside the salesfloor.
Look ahead to next year’s Global DIY Summit to gain an international perspective of the independent home improvement industry. The event takes place in Amsterdam June 10-12. Learn more at diysummit.org or edra-ghin.org.
Lindsey joined the NHPA staff in 2021 as an associate editor for Hardware Retailing magazine. A native of Ohio, Lindsey earned a B.S. in journalism and minors in business and sociology from Ohio University. She loves spending time with her husband, two kids, two cats and one dog, as well as doing DIY projects around the house, going to concerts, boating and cheering on the Cleveland Indians.
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