60 B&Q stores to shut in shake-up

Wednesday 01 April 2015

Home improvement chain B&Q is to close as many as 60 stores over the next two years as part of a restructuring of its UK and Ireland business.

Parent company Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix, plans to axe about 15% of surplus space as a result of the review of its 360-strong B&Q estate.

The move was announced as it posted a 7.5% drop in annual profits to £675 million after sales fell by 1.4% to £11 billion in the year to 31 January.

Kingfisher, which also trades in France through Castorama and Brico Depot, has already agreed to sell a controlling stake in its loss-making China business as it looks to focus on its core European market.

Chief executive Veronique Laury, who took over from Sir Ian Cheshire in December , said the closure plan was one of a number of "sharp" decisions being taken by the FTSE 100 company.

She added: "Home improvement is a great market with huge potential and Kingfisher has a strong position within it with further scope to grow in a sustainable way. However, it is clear to me that we need to organise ourselves very differently to unlock our potential."

Other plans include cutting back on some of the 393,000 products sold across the company, particularly as only 7,000 - amounting to 7% of sales - are currently sold in at least two of Kingfisher's operating companies.

The company will also look to optimise vacant store space and is in discussions with several retailers about sub-letting opportunities.