France pulls down Kingfisher results as group decides to pull out of Russia, Spain & Portugal
Kingfisher sales rose 1.2% to £3 billion in Q3 (up to 31 October 2018), down 1.3% like-for-like in constant currency, with weak sales in Castorama France pulling down the overall performance. Year to date gross margin after clearance is up in the UK, Poland and Brico Dépôt France. Kingfisher has made a strategic decision to […]
Kingfisher’s Screwfix empire reaches 600 stores
Last month, growing retailer Screwfix opened its 600th store in Hoddesdon. The retailer’s astonishing growth rate saw it open 100 stores in the past 18 months alone. The brand started life as the Woodscrew Supply Company in 1979 and launched its first Screwfix store in 2005, in Yeovil. Now 97% of the UK’s population is […]
DIY industry still sceptical on shift from bricks & mortar to online retail
A failure to address online retail may be seen as one of the reasons that Bunnings spectacularly failed in the UK and Ireland, but the broader global DIY industry remains dubious about the shift from bricks and mortar to online, according to this year’s delegates at the Global DIY Summit. 21% of the total delegates […]
B&Q breaks ground on new 375,000 sq ft distribution centre in Swindon
Kingfisher plc has signed contracts on a new B&Q distribution centre (DC) in Swindon. Construction on the new 375,000 square feet site started in March 2018. When complete, it is estimated around 100 new jobs will be created. It is expected to be operational by February 2019, when the site will be run by Kingfisher’s logistics […]
Kingfisher grows, but Screwfix and B&Q record softer sales in Q4
Sales rose 3.8% for Kingfisher – owner of B&Q, Screwfix, Brico Dépôt & Castorama – in its 2017/2018 financial year. Sales hit £11,655 million, up from £11,225m. Screwfix Screwfix performed well over the course of the year, although sales softened in Q4 for the reliable brand. Over the year, sales increased 16.7% (10.1% l-f-l) driven […]
Kingfisher culls jobs at B&Q & France’s Brico Dépôt and Castorama
Following the news that B&Q is to cull 200 jobs at its head office in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, fellow Kingfisher brand Brico Dépôt is reportedly set to cut more roles across the channel, in France. Brico Dépôt has over 121 depots in France and Castorama shops number over 100 in the country. News agency Reuters […]
Kingfisher: Screwfix up, B&Q & Brico Dépôt down
Screwfix’s digital capabilities helped steer the retailer to a 16.6% rise in sales (LFL 10.2%) in Q3. Outlet openings and new specialist ranges also helped guide it to growth, cementing its reputation as the star of the Kingfisher Group. Fellow UK & Ireland chain B&Q saw sales fall 2.9% (LFL -1.9%), due in part to […]
Screwfix & Poland put in solid performances for Kingfisher despite profit fall
Despite solid growth from star brand Screwfix and in growing territory Poland, Kingfisher’s H1 2017/2018 financial performance saw sales dip 1.3%. Kingfisher emphasised it was in Year 2 of its ‘ONE Kingfisher’ 5 year transformation. It said it was acting on the root causes of ‘business disruption’ by adapting, including an earlier roll out of a unified IT […]
Screwfix grows 17% but B&Q spoils Kingfisher’s party
It was a tale to two brands for Kingfisher, with Screwfix soaring and B&Q in the doldrums, according to the group’s Q2 2017 sales numbers. True to form, Screwfix sales rose a whopping 17.2% (l-f-l 10.8%) to £365m in the UK & Ireland, but B&Q saw sales down 7.8% (l-f-l 4.7%) to £967m due to […]
Screwfix continues to shine for Kingfisher in Q1 2017
Kingfisher, the group behind global DIY stockists Screwfix, B&Q, Castorama and Brico Dépôt, saw sales fall slightly in Q1 2017, down 0.6% like-for-like, to £2.9 billion. Sales in France – where the Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands operate – were weaker and disruption from the ONE Kingfisher plan were blamed for the small dip. However, Kingfisher […]