The history of Wickes can be traced back to 1854, when Henry Dunn Wickes and his brother began a modest lumber operation in the US state of Michigan.
However, the modern brand as we know it today started during the American property boom of the 1950s with the establishment of a one-stop shop which offered builders a full range of construction materials at lower prices than many of the local yards and merchants.
The first UK Wickes store was opened in Whitefield, Manchester, in 1972, offering an imaginative new concept. It used a traditional DIY store model to sell to trade customers, making it the first fixed-price builders merchant in the country.
The store allowed business customers to buy everything they needed to complete entire projects from one place. The company expanded and their 25th store opened in Bristol in 1986, while the 50-store mark was passed in 1990 - the same year they introduced a new 70/30 format, which saw 30% of space dedicated to home products such as kitchens and conservatories.
Wickes gradually increased their range of own-brand products and by the early 1990s, were almost completely own-brand. However, in recent years they have expanded their range to include trusted names such as Bosch, Makita and Dulux. The 100th store opened in Middlesex in 1995, while the company was bought by the Focus Group in 2000.
Wickes was acquired by Travis Perkins for £950 million in 2005, while the following year saw the website launched. The Wickes installation service, offering professional fitting of kitchens and bathrooms, was launched in 2009, while customers were given a new and convenient way to shop thanks to the introduction of the Wickes catalogue a year later.
The 200th store opened in 2011, while their range of products increased to 10,000. By the end of 2016, they had more than 240 stores, 62 of which were in a new format.
