Wickes is hiring 900 new staff in a bid to capitalise on B&Q’s decision to scrap its kitchen and bathroom fitting services.
The DIY retailer is targeting B&Q staff who have been offered more general roles in place of their specific kitchen and bathroom design and fit jobs.
Wickes, which already employs 600 design consultants and 1,900 installation teams, wants to recruit 150 design consultants and 750 fitters by the end of the year.
Wickes HR and operations director Fraser Longden said: “We believe that the demand and growth in this area represents a multimillion-pound opportunity, and a bolstered team will help us tap into this, becoming the go-to brand when it comes to choosing a new kitchen or bathroom.”
The company recorded a 4.6% slump in first-quarter like-for-like sales earlier this year, which it attributed to “poor weather conditions and the current weakness in the UK DIY market”.
The Travis Perkins-owned retailer cut 100 head office jobs last month in a bid to drive cost efficiencies across the business. It is currently making redundancies across a range of roles in its head office in Watford.
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