Record growth for Kingfisher

In the 1999/2000 financial year Kingfisher’s DIY division achieved a 120.3 per cent rise in sales to 6 956 Mio euro (£ 4 528 Mio). Profits for the sector went ahead by 95 per cent to 572.4 Mio euro (£ 372.6 Mio). At the end of the financial year on 29 January the group had 506 stores (including Castorama, B&Q and Nomi) with a total retail area of 3 020 Mio m2.
B&Q maintained its strong growth record in the United Kingdom. Sales increased by 21.2 per cent to 552 Mio euro (£ 2 312 Mio). This includes the contribution of Screwfix, the UK e-commerce and mail order company acquired in July 1999, at 50.5 euro Mio (£ 32.9 Mio). Like-for-like sales saw an increase of 8.6 per cent. B&Q profits rose by 19.1 per cent to 345.2 Mio euro (£ 224.7 Mio). Fourteen new Warehouses were opened, bringing the total to 48. They accounted for 37 per cent of the B&Q store sales. In the current year there are plans to open a further twelve Warehouses and three Supercentres.
Castorama in France achieved sales growth of 6.5 per cent to 2 638 Mio euro (£ 1 717 Mio) and increased like-for-like sales by 4.4 per cent. This was driven by Brico Dépôt in particular with a sales increase of 30.7 per cent (like-for-like 16 per cent). Last year one new Castorama store opened and there were two extensions. In the current year it is intended to transfer five Castorama stores to Brico Dépôt and to trial a Warehouse format, this opening in the second half of the year. This year it is planned to increase the number of Brico Dépôt stores by twelve, including the five to be transferred from Castorama.
Beyond the UK and France the group’s DIY segment grew rapidly last year. Sales increased to 766.4 Mio euro (£ 498.9 Mio). The number of stores rose to 67 (32 in Poland, 10 in Italy, 10 in Canada, 1 in Brazil, 6 in Taiwan, 1 in China, 1 in Belgium and 6 in Germany) following one new Castorama opening in Italy, five in Poland and the first Casto-Dépôt in Germany.
In the current year three more Castorama stores are the aim in Poland and the number of Nomi stores (in which Kingfisher increased its stake to 75 per cent at the end of 1999) is to be increased by six, taking the total to 30. Four new B&Q stores are planned for Taiwan and in June one further store is to open in Shanghai, China, as well. In Canada Réno Dépôt announced the opening of seven more new stores in the current year, three in Quebec and four in Ontario. Other developments planned for this year include expansion in Brazil…