B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher announces plans to open more than 100 new stores this year

Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q and Screwfix has announced plans to open more than 100 new stores this year.

The company plans to open 50 smaller B&Q stores and 60 Screwfix stores. Kingfisher plans to open the new stores despite the DIY chain seeing its pre-tax profits drop from £1billion to £611million in the year to January 31.

DIY retailer Kingfisher saw like-for-like sales fall by 2.1% to £13.1billion, with around 11% of this, £1.4billion,coming from the sale of energy and water saving products. Despite the fall, sales were still 15.6% higher than pre-pandemic, with online sales surging by 146%.

Kingfisher chief executive officer Thierry Garnier told a national newspaper: “We are in a good shape to be honest. We have no debt, we have executed our plan and there is a lot of opportunities for growth still. It is our responsibility to pursue growth quickly.”

The announcement of the new stores follows the news that B&Q will close eight of its sites located within Asda stores. While around 57 jobs will be affected by the “mini markets” store closures, staff will not lose their jobs and instead be offered alternative roles in nearby stores.

An international DIY brand, Kingfisher has over 1,900 stores across nine countries and employs more than 80,000 people in Europe.