Kingfisher sales spring ahead

News

26 May 1999

Retail group Kingfisher today reported a strong jump in spring sales as shoppers rushed to B&Q to buy garden furniture and barbecues for the summer.

B&Q saw like-for-like sales, stripping out income from new store space, jump11% over the 13 weeks to May 1 compared with the previous year.

The jump was helped by a surge in sales of garden goods and outdoor repair equipment during a record-breaking Easter week.

Overall like-for-like sales at Kingfisher, which earlier this month announced plans for an £18bn merger with Asda, jumped 6%.

Chief executive Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy said: “Overall this is a satisfactory start to the year in the face of strong comparatives with the previous year as well as continuing competitive pressure on margins and some unfavourable market conditions.”

Since the comparable period last year, Kingfisher merged its B&Q operations with French giant Castorama, also adding two further continental retailers to its Comet electrical goods chain.

The deals helped push total sales in the quarter from £1.48bn last year to £2.35bn – a jump of nearly 60%.

Castorama left room for improvement, however, after poor weather in the South of France hindered sales of garden goods and left like-for-like figures flat.

Woolworths’ comparable sales were only 2.3% ahead, with the lack of blockbuster video releases damaging revenues. The same quarter last year saw huge sales of The Full Monty and Men In Black, Kingfisher said.

New technology products such as multimedia and DVD helped drive sales forward at Comet, along with strong demand for so-called white goods such as fridges and washing machines.

The jump in turnover came despite widespread price cutting in the white goods market, indicating far more units were being sold.

Kingfisher said there were still no immediate plans to launch the group’s free internet access product, LibertySurf into the UK. It is currently being sold on the continent at its Darty electrical stores and will soon be available at Castorama.

EGi News 26/05/99

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Retail group Kingfisher today reported a strong jump in spring sales as shoppers rushed to B&Q to buy garden furniture and barbecues for the summer. B&Q saw like-for-like sales, stripping out income from new store space, jump11% over the 13 weeks to May 1 compared with the previous year. The jump was helped by a surge in sales of garden goods and outdoor repair equipment during a record-breaking Easter week. Overall like-for-like sales at Kingfisher, which earlier this month announced plans for an £18bn merger with Asda, jumped 6%. Chief executive Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy said: “Overall this is a satisfactory start to the year in the face of strong comparatives with the previous year as well as continuing competitive pressure on margins and some unfavourable market conditions.” Since the comparable period last year, Kingfisher merged its B&Q operations with French giant Castorama, also adding two further continental retailers to its Comet electrical goods chain. The deals helped push total sales in the quarter from £1.48bn last year to £2.35bn – a jump of nearly 60%. Castorama left room for improvement, however, after poor weather in the South of France hindered sales of garden goods and left like-for-like figures flat. Woolworths’ comparable sales were only 2.3% ahead, with the lack of blockbuster video releases damaging revenues. The same quarter last year saw huge sales of The Full Monty and Men In Black, Kingfisher said. New technology products such as multimedia and DVD helped drive sales forward at Comet, along with strong demand for so-called white goods such as fridges and washing machines. The jump in turnover came despite widespread price cutting in the white goods market, indicating far more units were being sold. Kingfisher said there were still no immediate plans to launch the group’s free internet access product, LibertySurf into the UK. It is currently being sold on the continent at its Darty electrical stores and will soon be available at Castorama. EGi News 26/05/99 Do you have a comment about this story? Send a note to the editor.