Surprising news from DIY land: Kingfisher is forming a purchase alliance with Mr. Bricolage. Kingfisher, which is seven times bigger than its French competitor, wants a more powerful position towards suppliers.
Next year
The group above B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix wants to have the purchasing alliance with Mr Bricolage ready by the second half of this year, to start negotiating with suppliers together for the financial year 2024/25. Kingfisher believes it can offer manufacturers more in this way, but also have a stronger negotiating position.
With a turnover of 14 billion euros, the British DIY group is seven times bigger than its new purchasing partner. Moreover, 45 % of its sales already come from its own brands. It therefore remains to be seen whether Mr Bricolage will soon have Kingfisher brands on its shelves.
Declining sales
In the financial year 2022/23, Kingfisher’s sales declined by 0.9 % (and even 2.1 % on a like-for-like basis). However, it should be noted that the base for comparison, 2021/22, was exceptionally strong. Sales in France, where Kingfisher competes with Mr Bricolage, went down 1.2 % to 5.1 billion euros.
Sales fell mostly at Brico Dépôt (- 2.5 %), while the relatively small chain Screwfix is booming. The formula only has five shops at the moment, but will added 25 more in France this year. In turn, Brico Dépôt is switching to smaller shop formats: while its usual stores are over 10,000 sqm, it is now opening a store of barely 1,000 sqm.
