Kingfisher targets expansion with Screwfix Europe

Kingfisher has presented a five-year plan with the aim of delivering a GBP 500 mio sustainable profit uplift by the end of year five. As explained by CEO Véronique Laury, the strategy includes limited expansion, the focus of which, in the medium term, will be Screwfix Europe. This strategy is based on three pillars, the first described as “creating a unified, unique and leading offer based on customer needs”. The nine buying teams are to be replaced by one international team with global functions, while most ranges will be standardised across the corporate group with its various distribution channels.
The second pillar is to be digital capability and the group will invest in its core e-commerce platforms, leveraging the “Screwfix best-in-class capability”.
Pillar number three is operational efficiency. The biggest opportunity here is perceived to lie in unifying around 90 per cent of the GBP 1.2 bn expenditure on goods not for resale.