B&Q owner sees sales surge during lockdown
B&Q owner Kingfisher has revealed a surge in sales during lockdown as shoppers took to its website in record numbers and saw long queues when stores reopened with new social-distancing measures in place.
Bosses said sales in the three months to June 13 were up 21.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis, although there was a 24.8 per cent fall in sales in the first three months of the year, with all the hit taken from closures at the end of March.
Online sales across Kingfisher's businesses, which also include Screwfix and Costarama in France, were up four-fold and bosses said they would be focusing on increasing online capacity and improving services under a "Powered by Kingfisher" strategic plan announced.
Chief executive Thierry Garnier said: "When the various lockdowns began, we rapidly transformed our operations to meet a sharp increase in e-commerce while adapting our retail space and processes to ensure a safe reopening of stores.
"In doing so, the social distancing and other health & safety protocols we established have contributed to setting the standard in non-food retailing."