B&Q hit with drop in sales due to 'seasonal swings' in weather

Kingfisher, Europe’s biggest home improvement retailer, has reported a sales slump in the UK and Ireland mainly due to poor “seasonal swings” in the weather.

The DIY giant revealed that sales dropped by 4.7% at its B&Q stores to £967m during this period. Purchases of sumer products such as barbecues, garden furniture and other outdoor goods, dropped by 11%.

Kingfisher noted that the unfavourable weather in the three months compared to last year’s much sunnier weather contributed to this significant fall in sales.

In addition, Kingfisher also reported a loss in sales across its Castorama and Brico Depot brands in France.

Screwfix, which is also owned by Kingfisher, was able to crack this trend, however, with sales increasing by 10%. The company said this is a result of Screwfix’s “digital capability, new and extended specialist ranges and new outlets.”

Overall, Kingfisher reported that like-for-like sales fell by 1.9% during the quarter in the business compared to the same period last year.

Véronique Laury, Kingfisher Chief Executive Officer, said: “Q2 has broadly followed a similar course to Q1 although B&Q’s performance was impacted by seasonal swings across Q1 and Q2.

“We have also continued to experience some disruption across the businesses, although on an improving trend. Availability of this year’s unified and unique product is now approaching normal levels.

“We continue to adapt new processes as our transformation progresses, which will support the significant amount of change planned for H2.

“Having been very aware that this year would be challenging given the step up in transformation activity, we already have self-help plans in place to support our overall Year 2 performance, though we remain cautious on the H2 outlook for the UK and France as previously guided.

“We remain on track to deliver our Year 2 strategic milestones, and look forward to updating you on our wider progress in more detail at our H1 results.”

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