Following previous work with Focus DIY Group in support of a management buyout, we were appointed by administrators to develop and implement a store trade out to maximise sales recovery.  Focus DIY was the fourth largest DIY retailer in the UK, with 178 stores and over 5.7 sq ft of floor space, when it entered administration in May 2011.  Around 100 stores had to be handed to purchasers free of all inventory within four weeks, and the remaining stores cleared to purchaser demand within eight weeks.  We deployed a 71-person team within 48 hours of the brief to run a four-pronged approach of financial modelling, sales promotion, operational modelling and financial support.  The first step was a forensic analysis of inventory and sales trends, plus allocation of promotions and price incentives to maximise sales, a bulk buy back of stock from Focus DIY suppliers, consultants on the ground to ensure delivery and a full programme of multi-channel marketing activity to drive awareness and traffic into stores.  This project required an extremely fast turnaround, with over 12,000 hanging signs and 2.1 million rack toppers delivered into 178 Focus DIY stores within less than a week.  Our flexible and speedy approach achieved a massive sales multiplier of 3.1 during the crucial May Bank Holiday weekend on like for like weekly sales and all 178 stores and the central warehouse were successfully closed within eight weeks, exceeding target sales recovery figures.