After seeing a phenomenal increase to its design & installation business last year, national retailer Wickes has reported even more healthy growth for the category across the first quarter of 2026.
In the company’s latest trading update released today, which covers business up until the end of April, Wickes said it had enjoyed a 6.4% year-on-year increase to its big-ticket design & install revenue.
Wickes recently reported seeing monumental growth of around 30% to its design & install division across 2025 as a whole. Following that, Wickes said these latest results mark its fourth consecutive quarter of growth for design & install sales.
Across the start of 2026, Wickes says it has managed to increase the total number of design & installation projects ordered, with particularly strong growth in bathrooms and the brand’s lifestyle kitchens range. The retailer also admitted that orders for bespoke kitchens have slowed slightly, and that it believes customers are “being more considered in their overall project spend”.
Despite the good fortune for design & install, Wickes’ overall retail revenue was comparatively flat, seeing a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.4%. Wickes blamed this partly on a poor consumer demand for outdoor projects, which the retailer said had been “significantly impacted by exceptional rainfall” compared with the start of 2025.
Despite the revenue dip, Wickes said it had continued to deliver volume growth in retail because its prices have “remained deflationary, in low single digits”. Additionally, the company said it expects retail sales to return to growth soon, especially considering Wickes is set to benefit from lower business rates following its latest revaluation.
“We are pleased to have achieved further volume growth in the first 17 weeks of the year,” summed up David Wood, CEO of Wickes. “TradePro continues to go from strength to strength, while the performance in Design & Installation is testament to our broadened offer across kitchens and bathrooms. Our proven growth strategy gives us added confidence as we accelerate our new store rollout and refresh programme.”
In related news, Wickes recently set an ambitious long-term target of operating 300 stores. This year, the retailer said it expects to open around four or five new stores, as well as refreshing a further 15 to 25 locations. However, Wickes says its rollout “will accelerate from 2028 onwards”, when it expects to be opening upwards of 10 new stores each year.