​Kingfisher ecommerce sales soar as Garnier praises ‘resilient’ results

In the six months to July 31, 2020, ecommerce sales across the French home and DIY giant’s brands grew 164% and now account for 19% of the group’s total sales. 

The retailer’s statutory pre-tax profit rose 62% to £398m and adjusted pre-tax profits grew 23% to £415m. 

Overall sales slipped 1.3% to £5.9bn, which reflected the adverse effects across the business due to the coronavirus in the first quarter of the year. 

Like-for-like sales also slipped 1.6%, with growth at B&Q in the UK, as well as in Poland and Romania, offset by Screwfix in France, Russia and Iberia.

Retail profits grew 17% to £533m, while profit margins reached 9%. 

In terms of the outlook for the rest of the year, Kingfisher said it had experienced an encouraging start to the second half of the year, with sales in the third quarter up 17% to September 19. 

Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier said: “We delivered a resilient financial performance in the first half of the year, with the adverse impact of Covid-19 in Q1 offset by a strong recovery in Q2. This recovery has continued into Q3 to date, with growth across all banners and categories.

“The crisis has prompted more people to rediscover their homes and find pleasure in making them better. It is creating new home improvement needs, as people seek new ways to use space or adjust to working from home. It’s also clear that customers are becoming more comfortable with ordering online. And delivering value to consumers is imperative against a challenging economic backdrop.

“Through our new strategic direction our retail banners have gained agility and have leveraged their distinct positioning. This has strengthened our market positions and delivered much improved LFL sales before and after the lockdowns. Our experiences through the crisis have reinforced the benefits of our strategic direction and have made us bolder in our priorities.

“We have made progress against the strategic plan announced in June. We are fundamentally reorganising our commercial operating model to serve our customers better. We have accelerated our plans around ecommerce, with a focus on fulfilment from stores.

“We are continuing to improve our operational performance in France and have introduced new trading approaches at each of our banners. We are testing a number of initiatives, including new concepts, services and partnerships.

“There remains considerable uncertainty around Covid-19 and our near-term priorities have not changed – to provide support to the communities in which we operate, to look after our colleagues as a responsible employer, to serve our customers as a retailer of essential goods and to protect our business for the long term. We remain proud of, and humbled by, the response of our teams to the current challenges.

“Looking forward, while the near-term outlook is uncertain, the longer-term opportunity for Kingfisher is significant. There is a lot more to do, but the new team and new plan is now established in the business and we are committed to returning Kingfisher to growth.”