Despite the pandemic sweeping the nation, Kingfisher brands B&Q and Screwfix will remain open to customers
The B&Q and Screwfix parent company saw UK and Ireland sales increase by one per cent to £5.1bn, Kingfisher reported in its set of unaudited accounts up to January 31. Screwfix saw a 9.4 per cent uptick in sales to £1.8bn, while B&Q saw sales slump 3.1 per cent to £3.2bn.
Total group sales were down 0.8 per cent in constant currency, while like-for-like sales were down 1.5 per cent. Kingfisher has been hit hard over the last month by the government-mandated closure of its 221 stores in France and 28 stores in Spain, both of which have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, Kingfisher said its stores in the UK, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Portugal and Russia would remain open.
“We are committed to supporting our communities and governments to manage the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kingfisher Chief Executive Thierry Garnier said. “We are very conscious of the anxiety that the outbreak is causing for our colleagues and customers, and we’ll do everything we can to support them. At the same time, we are working hard to minimise the impact on our business and financial performance.”
