History

Do It All was originally created by WH Smith in 1979 when the company acquired a DIY chain.

Fierce competition in the 1980s saw the chain struggle, and in 1990 it was merged with the rival Payless DIY chain, owned by the Boots Group. The combined group - in which WH Smith and Boots both had a 50 per cent share - was rebranded under the Do It All brand. Fortunes did not improve, however, and in June 1996, after periods of substantial losses, WH Smith sold their share in the company to Boots for a £1 gift voucher, giving the latter full ownership.

In August 1998 Boots, wanting to concentrate on its core pharmaceutical businesses, sold the 139 stores to Focus (DIY) Ltd for £68 million. The stores were initially rebranded under the Focus Do It All name, before being rebranded again in 2001 as simply Focus, following the company's acquisition of Great Mills (whose stores had already been converted to the "Focus for DIY and Gardening" brand).

After Focus DIY acquired Wickes

Wickes

Wickes is a do-it-yourself retailer based in the United Kingdom and owned by Travis Perkins, with more than 190 stores throughout the country. It focuses on supplies and materials for homeowners and the building trade...

 in September 2000, some former Do It All stores were converted to the Wickes format, mostly in areas felt to be outside the Focus core market. Focus later sold Wickes to builders' merchants Travis Perkins

Travis Perkins

Travis Perkins plc is a British builders merchant based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

.

In 2008, after 18 years, the Payless DIY brand was restored by Focus as part of their autumn advertising campaign "Do More, Payless".