Design Centre for China

The UK’s Kingfisher Group is considering reshaping the format of its B&Q stores in China. In an interview with the Financial Times, Kingfisher CEO Ian Cheshire talked about the showroom concept tested in a store in Shanghai, in which four complete model apartments had been created. Customers plan the layout of their apartment in a design centre of this kind, and then have installation carried out by professionals.The test was prompted by the difficulties other DIY store operators have faced in China. “Big box DIY retail is not the model for China,” Cheshire conceded. Chinese customers prefer the “do it for me” approach to “do it yourself”. If the design centre concept in the test store is successful, it could be extended to all 40 Chinese B&Q stores.