British multinational home improvement retail company
Kingfisher plc
is a British
multinational
retailing company headquartered in
London
, England.
[6]
It has over 1,300 stores in nine countries, and its brands include
B&Q
,
Castorama
,
Brico Depot
and
Screwfix
.
[7]
Kingfisher is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
, and is a constituent of the
FTSE 100 Index
.
[8]
History
[
edit
]
The company was founded in 1982 as Paternoster Stores Ltd, to conduct a buyout of the British
Woolworths
chain. In March 1983, Paternoster changed its name to Woolworth Holdings plc.
[9]
Woolworths already owned
B&Q
, and the company expanded through subsequent acquisitions of companies such as
Superdrug
and
Comet
.
[9]
The business acquired Screwfix in July 1999, which is now the United Kingdom's largest multi channel retailer of trade tools, accessories and hardware products. The company was led from January 1984, until his retirement in December 2002, by
Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy
. Largely through his influence, the company became the major sponsor of British sailor
Ellen MacArthur
.
[10]
Woolworth Holdings was renamed Kingfisher plc in December 1989.
[9]
Further acquisitions included European companies such as
Castorama
,
[11]
BUT S.A.
[12]
and
Wegert
.
[13]
In July 1999, Kingfisher attempted a takeover of
Asda
, one of the United Kingdom's largest supermarket chains, only to be beaten by
Walmart
.
[14]
In August 2001, coupled with an acrimonious battle for control of
Castorama
,
[15]
the resultant share price pressure forced the sale and demerger of several parts of the company, including Woolworths (forming the
Woolworths Group
),
[16]
and the demerger of the electricals business to form
Kesa Electricals
in July 2003 ? causing the company to refocus entirely around
DIY
.
[17]
The company was led by Gerry Murphy from December 2002 to November 2007.
[18]
In January 2008, Kingfisher appointed
Ian Cheshire
as group chief executive.
[18]
Cheshire was formerly
B&Q
's chief executive; his B&Q role was taken over in April 2009, by
Euan Sutherland
, who also headed up the United Kingdom division of Kingfisher.
[19]
In September 2014, it was announced that the head of Castorama
Veronique Laury
would replace Ian Cheshire as Kingfisher group CEO in February 2015. Laury had worked at Kingfisher for eleven years, including roles at B&Q.
[20]
[21]
In June 2017,
Andy Cosslett
succeeded
Daniel Bernard
as chairman.
[22]
[23]
In March 2019, it was announced that Laury would be leaving the business at a date to be announced, following the failure of her "One Kingfisher" plan, and a 52.8% collapse in pre tax profits.
[24]
In September 2019,
Thierry Garnier
was appointed as CEO.
[25]
In March 2021, following a franchise agreement with
Al-Futtaim Group
, Kingfisher will expand its B&Q market to the Middle East. The Al-Futtaim Group will run and staff the stores in Saudi Arabia entirely.
[26]
[27]
Operations
[
edit
]
Kingfisher currently operates over 1,300 stores in eight countries in Europe and in Turkey. Its main retail brands are B&Q, Castorama, Brico Depot and Screwfix.
[28]
The companies now part of the Kingfisher group are:
- B&Q
; operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland
- Brico Depot
; in France, Spain, Portugal and Romania
- Castorama
; in France and Poland
- Kocta?; 50% joint venture in Turkey
- Screwfix
; in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Former operations
[
edit
]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Divisions and
subsidiaries
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Joint ventures and
shareholdings
| |
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Other
| |
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- 1
Demerged in 2003
- 2
Sold in 2001
- 3
Demerged in 2001
|