B&Q considers Chinese acquisition
PriceSmart China stores offer route to expansion
Kingfisher is considering buying a package of stores from PriceSmart China to speed up expansion of its B&Q DIY chain in the Chinese market.
The UK-based retail group believes that locally-owned PriceSmart China would be willing to sell some of its 70 stores, located in the south-west provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan,and said a deal could be done next year.
B&Q operates 15 outlets in China and aims to open another 60 by 2008. While PriceSmart China licences the warehouse club brand from US retailer PriceSmart, theUS company has no ownership of the business
B&Q spokeswoman Shirley Lu told news agency Reuters: “They’ve had a few operational problems. If they have some stores they want to sell – and we think it’s feasible – we’ll talk to them. We want to expand, and if they wish to sell, we’d think about doing it that way. They have many outlets in the southwest, where we don’t.”
