Businesses
What’s On
Travel Info
Dacombes of Wimborne is celebrating a landmark night for the family-run business after scooping three major honours at the 2026 IER Awards, one of the UK electrical retail industry’s leading awards programmes. These prestigious industry awards honour everything from exceptional products and business pioneers to high street heroes and customer service champions.
The independent electrical retailer, based on Leigh Road and with more than 100 years of trading history in the town, was named Best Independent Retailer focused on Sustainability Consumer Electronics and Best Large Independent Retailer Consumer Electronics. And the crowning glory was being presented with Best Overall Independent Retailer Focused on Sustainability.
A delighted Matt Renaut, Managing Director at Dacombes of Wimborne said: “Winning two industry awards was fantastic but to be recognised as the overall best independent retailer in the sustainability category was an ambition of mine fulfilled.”
This success follows two consecutive years of award wins for the Wimborne business and underlines Dacombes’ long-term commitment to customer service, technical knowledge and a business plan built around greener, more energy-efficient operations.
Judges praised the company’s practical approach to sustainability, including its move to solar power to help run hundreds of domestic appliances, televisions and home cinema displays in its large Dorset showroom.
Working with Low Carbon Dorset, a green grant initiative run by Dorset Council, Dacombes installed 99 solar panels on the roof of its showroom in Leigh Road. The system allows the business to be self-sufficient in energy during working hours, significantly reducing its carbon footprint and helping to protect the business from rising energy costs.
The company has also invested in two EV van chargers, a Tesla battery, a heat pump for heating and cooling, energy-efficient lighting and equipment and an innovative electronic price-ticketing system that removes the need for paper price labels.
In its warehouse, packaging including cardboard, plastic and polystyrene is either baled or compacted and recycled wherever possible. The business also seeks to recycle unwanted televisions, donating suitable sets to charities and community causes rather than sending them to waste.
Managing director Matt Renaut said: “Our commitment to green energy and environmental initiatives is at the forefront of our business model. These changes don’t happen overnight – they take investment, planning and a huge amount of commitment from the whole team.”
He added: “To be recognised nationally for that work means so much. We are proud to show that an independent local business can embrace greener technology, reduce its environmental impact and continue to deliver the personal service our customers expect.”
Last year, Dacombes merged with Holmans of Wimborne, another respected family-run business, bringing together nearly 180 years of trusted local trading. The combined team now offers customers well over 200 years of collective sales and product knowledge.
Dacombes says its environmental work is central to its plans, with further green energy improvements expected as the business continues to invest in a more sustainable way of serving customers across Wimborne, Dorset and the surrounding area.
