‘We Are Not Closing,’ Says Guildford B&Q Manager

Published on: 31 Mar, 2015
Updated on: 4 Apr, 2015

The B&Q store in Ladymead

The manager of Guildford’s B&Q said today (March 31) that the store was staying open following an announcement by owners Kingfisher plc that 60 “surplus” stores would be closing.

But later this afternoon a spokeswoman for Kingfisher refused to confirm that Guildford was not on the list of 60. She said: “It is only proper that we tell staff members at the affected stores first.”

The store closure announcement, covered in the national media, comes in the wake of a reduced profits of 7.5 per cent for 2014.

The duty store manager at Guildford, early this afternoon, said: “We are not closing. That is all I can say.” Another staff member said: “We were told at this morning’s briefing that we are not on the list.”

B&Q opened in Ladymead, Guildford in the early 1990s. In recent years local competition has increased with the opening of Screwfix, also owned by Kingfisher, and Wickes.

Profits across the whole home improvements retail sector have been under pressure in line with a reduced level of activity in the construction industry.

Kingfisher plc is a British multinational retailing company which has its headquarters in London. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe and the third-largest in the world.

The company appointed a new CEO in December, Véronique Laury. She said today: “We have a lot to do and we are announcing today a set of first ‘sharp’ decisions which are already underway including the closure of around 15% surplus B&Q space [c.60 stores].”

In a separate announcement, it was said that Kevin O’Byrne, chief executive for B&Q UK & Ireland, would leave the firm on 15 May 2015 “allowing a smooth handover of his responsibilities” with further details to be announced “in due course”.

There are 360 B&Q stores in the UK/Ireland. Only six of the 60 store closures have so far been confirmed. They are: Southampton, Dundee, Baums Lane Mansfield (Nottingham), Stetchford Road Birmingham, Hyde (Manchester) and Barnsley.

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