Kingfisher reports weak sales in France

Kingfisher has reported its full-year trading results, covering the year ended 31st January 2017.

Kingfisher France sales declined by 1.4% (-2.7% LFL) to £4,254 million.

According to Banque de France data*, sales for the home improvement market were down 0.6%.

Whilst holding a strong market position in France and benefiting from a well invested store estate, both businesses have delivered weaker sales compared to the market.

Castorama total sales declined by 2.4% (-3.0% LFL) to £2,308 million. LFL sales of seasonal products were down 4.6% and sales of non-seasonal products, including showroom were down 2.5%.

Brico Dépôt total sales were broadly flat (-2.3% LFL) at £1,946 million reflecting store openings.

Across the two businesses, one net new store was opened and four were revamped, adding around 1% new space. By the end of next year, our ONE Kingfisher plan will provide newness in our customer proposition as over half of France’s offer will be unified and unique.

Some of the CPR benefits will be reinvested in price as we start to move towards making home improvement more affordable for customers. In addition, this year we will complete the roll out of the unified IT platform in Castorama France, enabling us to build a stronger digital offer, starting with new mobile and site search.

Retail profit was broadly flat at £353 million, despite the weaker sales, reflecting higher gross margins (+20 basis points) benefiting from less promotional activity, and continued focus on cost control.

Source : Kingfisher PLC
www.kingfisher.com 

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