Kingfisher to exit Russian, Spanish and Portuguese markets
Kingfisher has reported that third quarter like-for-like sales at its B&Q DIY chain in the UK and Ireland fell by 2.9% at constant currency as it announced plans to exit Russia, Spain and Portugal.
In the three months to 30 October like-for-likes at its Screwfix business rose by 4.1%.
In a trading update for the period, the company said it was making good progress with its transformation plan and was on track to achieve its main strategic milestones for the third year in a row, despite tough trading conditions.
Véronique Laury, Kingfisher chief executive, said: “Transformation on this scale is tough, and we are operating in a difficult retail environment. We face challenges and we are addressing them. Our main challenge is Castorama France and we shared our action plan to fix it at the half year. Our action plan is now implemented for this year. We have accelerated our move to an everyday low- price strategy and have launched a new marketing campaign to make it visible to our customers, however there is no quick fix.”
Like-for-like sales in Kingfisher’s French businesses, which include Castorama, were down 3.4% in the period.
The results meant that total sales across the Kingfisher group rose by 1.2% to £3.04 billion on a constant currency basis. Like-for-like sales fell by 1.3% at constant currency.
In addition to the quarter’s results, Kingfisher has also announced that it will be exiting Russia, Spain and Portugal to enable it focus on its main markets.
Laury added: “We are committed to our plan and to building a strong business for the long-term. As part of this commitment, we have taken the decision to exit Russia, Spain and Portugal. This will allow us to apply our strategy with more focus and efficiency in our main markets where we have, or can reach, a market leading position and create good homes by making home improvement accessible for everyone.”
