B and Q launches gift cards as it shakes up brand

B&Q is to launch its first gift card next month, as it unveils the biggest brand makeover in its history.

The DIY giant’s plastic gift cards will feature different designs, such as moving house or Christmas images and will retail for between£1 and£100.

This month, B&Q also started a trial of a range of gift options for its handyman service in 11 London stores.

B&Q is piloting the handyman services, which include hanging a bathroom cabinet and replacing a light switch, in 21 London stores and 21 shops in Manchester.

Customers will be able to hire a handyman for a full day for£280 in Manchester (£60 an hour) and£350 in London (£75 an hour). B&Q chief executive Ian Cheshire said: “I am sure it will be a popular service.”

Separately, B&Q unveiled a new multimillion-pound TV and press ad campaign this week that ditches its iconic “You can do it” slogan, which has been used in its campaigns in various forms since the mid-1990s.

The new campaign features the slogan “Let’s do it” and involves families embarking on home improvement projects, which is a radical departure from its traditional ads featuring employees holding tins of paint.

The campaign will feature a new look for B&Q’s Colours own-brand of homewares, lighting, curtains and decoration products.

The ads will use a modified version of the classic Cole Porter track Let’s do it, let’s fall in love.

As Retail Week went to press, B&Q was expected to report first-half pre-tax profit rose to about£183 million, on like-for-likes up 2 per cent over the period.