Unlike Olympus it does not have an own- label brand nor does it plan to introduce one. Unlike the struggling Olympus chain Blacks Leisure is especially focused on the sports clothing market, although it does sell some equipment It is also totally brand oriented. This included improving the warehouse and distribution network, installing electronic point of sale (Epos) equipment and stepping up staff training to improve service levels, product knowledge and sales skills.The third factor has been the buoyancy of the sportswear market, helped by events such as the Olympics and the European football championship. First Simon Bentley, the chairman and chief executive, disposed of underperforming businesses including Quasar, a disastrous football brand.Second, there was a programme of investment in all the behind-the-scenes aspects that make a retailer successful. The operating profit margin was 1 per cent and return on capital 5 per cent, although even that was an improvement on two years previously, when the group had been making losses. Three principal forces have been at work in laying the groundwork for the recovery. By contrast Marks and Spencer is on a prospective p/e of 18.5 and rival sports goods chain JJB Sports is on 20.5. As recently as last year Blacks Leisure seemed to be struggling, with sales of pounds 65.6m producing profits of pounds 620,000.

Impressed by these figures, the firm's stockbroker has upgraded its profit forecast for the full year from pounds 5.4m to pounds 7m. That would put earnings per share at 14.7p, which means that one of Britain's fastest- growing retailers stands on a prospective price/earnings ratio of just 12.7 times. The shares have more than quadrupled since the start of the year as investors have realised that profits are entering a phase of promising growth. Even now, however, the full scale of the improvement is not fully reflected in the price and the shares could well double again in the next 18 months. The latest charge in the stock follows the company's annual meeting at which it reported that like-for-like sales across the board were up 24 per cent over last year. Quite why the Meyer deal was not consummated, after initial talks had taken place, is a mystery: the sticking point was probably just price.For now, the new guard at Wolseley will have to live with an unfamiliar situation: a predicted fall in profits for the full year, forecast to be around 2 per cent off the 1995 figure, or pounds 240m It is unlikely to last.

When the housing boom filters through to the building trade, Wolseley will once again be well placed. Lancaster's Eeyore impression will not be missed for long, but his legacy will serve his successors well.. Blacks Leisure, a retailer of sports goods, is emerging as one of the most spectacular turnaround stories in the stock market. A well-conceived, profile-raising campaign alone would put some life into the shares.In the medium term, they will be expected to splash out on a big acquisition - one which will require much more cash than the pounds 68m raised through the placing in April.They could either look for another acquisition in the US to go with its Carolina builders or Familian Northwest distribution units, or bite the bullet in the UK and buy out one of its rivals.This last plan would cheer the market up even more, since they see the sector as badly in need of consolidation, and the management team at Wolseley as by far the best of the bunch. With another hike of 21 per cent in 1995, and only a small portion of this coming from acquisitions, it is little wonder that the profits engine finally ran out of fuel this year.The blot on Wolseley's profit record also gives the new management team of Ireland and Young, both internal appointments, something to work on.Lancaster's refusal to partici-pate in the usual round of media interviews, and to give but the bare minimum of financial information at results time, has resulted in a very low profile for the company, and one that Ireland and Young could easily fix. It is the world leader in heating and plumbing supply, and has a market-leading 8 per cent of the UK building merchants' market through its Plumb Center bathroom supplies subsidiary.