Kingfisher opens the first of four concept stores in the group

Kingfisher has opened the first of four concept stores, in which the group aims to test a combination of the best elements of DIY from across the whole group. The B&Q store in question is the store at Bristol Cribbs Causeway. Three other pilot stores are to be opened in the course of this year in France, Poland and Russia.
"The store is radically improved to reflect the ongoing changes in the way we live, how we shop and the way we use our homes," is B&Q's description of the new concept, which has been developed in close cooperation with Kingfisher's French subsidiary Castorama. It continues: "The end-to-end customer shopping experience is dramatically enhanced, making home improvement for B&Q Cribbs Causeway shoppers more accessible than ever before."
The store, which it has taken six months to convert, now offers 40 000 products, including 2 500 "new and exclusive products". Lighting, paint, home decor, tiling, bathrooms and kitchens are among the areas that have been heavily invested in.
Kingfisher has emphasised the importance of the project in the statement issued by Michael Loewe, CEO of B&Q: "This newly upgraded store will play a significant role in how we, and the rest of the Kingfisher, shape our stores of the future."