While it may be one of the least melodious words to spring from TV advertising, “housebarrassment” is memorable — possibly more memorable than the name of the Wickes DIY chain it promotes.
But it nails one driver behind the still-buoyant property improvement market: the desire to have a presentable home.
At yesterday’s annual meeting, the first since the company demerged from Travis Perkins a year ago, shareholders heard trading was in line with expectations so far this year, despite group like-for-like sales being down 0.6 per cent on a year ago. That is quite a tough comparison, as DIY was then still being boosted by lockdown demand. The company prefers to draw attention to the 22.4 per cent sales rise over the past three years,
