The growing importance of Screwfix

Kingfisher have released the analyst presentation that they provided yesterday to support their annual results and it makes very interesting reading. The growing importance of Screwfix in terms of sales (with turnover now over £1bn for the first time) is putting their established chains to shame. More importantly the profitability and scaleability of the model, which already has 457 stores in the UK, is very obvious.

If they get it right, the opportunity across mainland Europe is very significant indeed. The existing nine stores in Germany are already generating £3m of sales from a standing start, with plans to open a further nine in the next year. Our guess, is that they will probably open many more stores than this and not only in Germany.

Read more about the Screwfix results and plans here.

Download the analyst presentation here.

On the broader Kingfisher results, Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief at www.money.co.uk commented:-

“Kingfisher’s ambitious overhaul plans appear to be off to a good start. The appetite for DIY doesn’t look to be waning and this is only set to continue as sky high house prices mean staying put and doing up has become more affordable than moving house.  With ambitious amateurs looking up tips on YouTube the industry is set to be popular as ever. 

“It’s interesting the groups’ best known brands, B&Q and Screwfix, have both hit the headlines this month for very different reasons; Screwfix for winning a top employer award and B&Q for scrapping staff perks. Performance seems to suggest that all energies are going into Screwfix and B&Q are being left out in the cold. Bad news for workers at B&Q, perhaps employees should look to jump ship over to Screwfix.”

Source: Insight DIY Team