LONDON – The coronavirus pandemic has caused the permanent closure of brick-and-mortar retailers worldwide, but European home-improvements giant Kingfisher is looking to expand, chief executive Thierry Garnier told AFP in an interview.
Kingfisher and its rivals have been allowed to keep stores open during the virus outbreak, enabling customers to buy goods and collect online orders, which have soared over the past year.
Kingfisher’s sales jumped 7% in 2020 to £12.34 billion (RM70.57 billion) as lockdowns saw people making improvements to their homes, the company revealed in its recent annual results statement.
Online sales ballooned 158% compared with 2019, the British group added.
Garnier, 55, said Kingfisher is well placed to benefit further even after government restrictions are lifted, with office workers likely to some extent continue working from home.
“When you spend more time at home, the house itself becomes more important, so you’re going to allocate it a bigger budget,” said the Frenchman.
“You may need to set up a proper office... so working from home is going to be positive for our sector.”
‘Click-and-collect’
Kingfisher, which employs around 80,000 staff across Europe, plans to open smaller stores in city-centre locations.
“We will have more stores... but smaller sizes,” said Garnier, who has led Kingfisher since 2019.
Such locations will enable the fast delivery of goods to customers and allow them to benefit from the “click-and-collect” service, he said.
“When you are at home tinkering and you need a part or (paint) brush, you can’t always wait eight days” for a delivery.
Kingfisher operates in eight countries, with the vast majority of its operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it has more than 1,000 stores under the Screwfix and B&Q brands.
Its next-biggest market is France, with 214 Castorama and Brico Depot outlets.
Kingfisher is also based in Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Turkey – bringing its total number of stores to around 1,400.
DIY for the young
Official data on Friday showed that British monthly retail sales jumped 2.1% last month on strong demand for home improvements and garden items.
Compared with Kingfisher stores in mainland Europe, the “notable nuance in England is the importance given to the garden”, said Garnier, whose stores sell plants alongside power tools.
He noted that the pandemic has led to the emergence of a new breed of DIY enthusiasts – people under 35 years old “who have taken pleasure in the new skills acquired”.
In the United States, home-improvements giant Home Depot recently posted a 15% jump in annual net profits to US$12.3 billion (RM51 billion).
While Garnier said Brexit has not posed “any particular difficulty” for Kingfisher, competition from online giant Amazon is an issue he wants governments to address.
In a joint letter earlier this year, he and other business leaders called on UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to slash taxes on commercial property.
“The tax systems in many countries have not been adapted for the internet world and emergence of e-commerce,” said Garnier. – AFP, March 28, 2021
