B&Q owner Kingfisher to close stores

Kingfisher, which owns DIY retailers including B&Q and Screwfix, has outlined plans to close 15 stores across the group during the next two years. It will additionally close all 19 Screwfix outlets in Germany. However, Kingfisher emphasised it will extend its roll-out of Screwfix stores in the UK, with a store target of 800, and reaffirmed plans to enter new markets, including the Republic of Ireland. At the end of the financial year, Screwfix had 627 outlets in the UK. Total sales at B&Q fell by 2.8% to £3.4m. On the other hand, Screwfix posted a 10.3% rise in sales to £1.7bn. The group has said it will seek to replace Veronique Laury as chief executive, although a departure date has not yet been decided. Laury had been overseeing a turnaround strategy. Underlying pretax profit at the business dropped by 13% to £573m in the year to 31 January. The group’s French chain Castorama was highlighted as a poor performer. Laury said of the results: “We have achieved radical organisational and behavioural change across Kingfisher over the last three years. “Screwfix’s leading omnichannel proposition has consistently delivered strong growth in recent years and we have identified additional expansion opportunities in both the UK and in new markets, initially in the Republic of Ireland. “Much of our focus over the last three years has been on building an ‘engine’ to deliver a superior customer proposition and the agility to succeed in the new retail environment. Our customers are starting to benefit from differentiated product, in store and online, at everyday low prices. Over the next year we will be accelerating our unique product activity and making our innovation more visible to customers including testing new store concepts.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette