Payless DIY

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Payless DIY was a UK chain of DIY stores in the 1980s. It started as Marley Homecare and was renamed Payless DIY in 1983 to shed the old Marley image and attract builders with lower prices. The rebrand copied Wickes’ model: bigger stock of trade items like timber and building supplies, and a “pile it high, sell it cheap” approach. Prices dropped across the board, which drew many jobbing builders and boosted sales. By 1989, Payless was the UK’s third-largest DIY chain, with around £230 million in sales.

Marley Group began as Marley Retail Limited in 1959, bringing DIY to UK High Streets. The chain grew to about 300 shops in the 1960s and offered flooring, adhesives, plumbing, and more, with some installation services. In 1985 Marley sold Payless to Ward White Group (which also owned Halfords). Ward White invested to expand, and in 1987 Payless bought 13 stores in the North and West from former footballer Paul Madeley, rebranding them as Payless.

In 1991 Ward White was bought by Boots and the Payless chain was merged with WH Smith’s Do It All, with the combined stores using the Do It All name. Do It All shifted to target mainly women and interior design, while heavy building and timber products were no longer emphasized. The jobbing builder market moved to Wickes, and after some poor trading WH Smith pulled out of the merger. Boots then sold Do It All to Focus DIY in 1998. Focus kept some Payless ranges and later bought Wickes, which Focus sold at a profit to Travis Perkins.