B&Q owner plans to open Screwfix City store in Bristol
The owner of DIY giant B&Q has said that it plans to open a Screwfix store in Bristol. Screwfix already has a click-and-collect store in Warmley that opened in early 2022 as well as number of other outlets in and around the city. The new shop would be a smaller format Screwfix City store.
In total, Kingfisher Group has already opened nine Screwfix City stores and aims to open 11 more by the end of the year. Initially focusing on London, it is also looking at sites in Bristol as part of a plan to have 100 Screwfix City outlets operating in the next few years.
The news comes as the DIY retail behemoth cautions that its customers are continuing to shun “big ticket” home improvement purchases. That said, it also pointed to a brighter outlook thanks to signs of an uplift in the housing market.
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The group saw shares jump seven per cent higher in morning trading on Tuesday, September 17, as its half-year results came in better than expected and the group revealed improved recent trading.
Kingfisher reported a 0.5 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profits to £334 million for the six months to July 31, although the result was flattered by a rebate of around £25 million for business rates at the B&Q business.
UK and Ireland like-for-like sales, including the Screwfix chain, fell 0.2 per cent as cooler spring and early summer weather knocked demand, but Kingfisher said seasonal sales of items such as outdoor furniture, BBQs and decking had improved since July.
The firm revealed B&Q sales of so-called big ticket items – largely kitchen and bathroom ranges – tumbled 11.6% in the UK and Ireland over the first half. Kingfisher also saw sales plunge 7.2 per cent across France over the first half, with Kingfisher partly blaming ongoing political uncertainty.
But it said current trading was seeing like-for-like sales declines in the third quarter pare back to 0.3 per cent, which marks an improvement on the 2.4 per cent fall seen in the first half and the 3.8% drop in the three months to July 31.
The group upgraded the bottom end of its profit guidance, narrowing its full-year forecast to between around £510 million to £550 million, against the £490 million to £550 million previously predicted.
“Trading in the UK & Ireland and France is ahead of the sales trend in the second quarter, with the benefit of softer comparatives in the same period last year,” according to the firm.
Thierry Garnier, chief executive of Kingfisher, said: “As expected, demand for ‘big-ticket’ categories has remained weak, in line with the broader market, while seasonal category sales trends have improved since early July. Against this backdrop we maintained a strong focus on effectively managing our costs and inventory.”
But he added the group was seeing “positive early signs of a housing market recovery, notably in the UK”, which it hopes will help pave the way for improved demand for large purchases.