Could it be because Britain has given up on DIY in favour of GSI – Getting Someone In?
Retailers fear Britain is falling out of love with DIY DIY retailers are suffering in a contracting market described by B&Q, the biggest of them, as “very difficult”. “There has been a degree of downturn that no one really saw coming at that speed,” says the firm’s chief executive, Ian Cheshire. B&Q and its competitors blame the downturn on a sluggish housing market – because when people stop moving house, they stop spending on big home improvement projects. End of an era? But is it as much to do with a more general trend? Is Britain falling out of love with DIY? For Londoner Adam Coulter, the laptop – not the toolbox – is now the first thing he reaches for when he needs work done round the house. “I do have a tool box, and I can do something like screw a hinge on,” says Adam. But he prefers to go online and order a handyman to do his little jobs. Small businesses like 0800handyman are flourishing: offering a man on a bike to do as many household jobs as you can line up for them, and c
