B&Q History.

B&Q was founded in 1969 and is the largest DIY retailer in Europe and the 3rd largest in the world. B&Q stands for Block & Quayle who were the two original founders of the company. B&Q were subsequently bought by woolworths who in turn were bought by paternoster and subsequently the name was changed to kingfisher plc.  Kingfisher is a geographically diverse home improvement retailer, operating over 830 stores in eight countries in Europe and Asia and generating sales of £10.5 billion they also own screwfix. Over six million customers are served in-store every week, from everyday DIYers to trade professionals and they employ over 78,000 employees worldwide. They also launched B&Q next day.

Financial Results Year Ended 31/01/2012.

The Kingfisher group had sales of £10,831 million and a profit before taxation of £807m. UK & Ireland Retail Sales were down 0.9% to £3.89 billion although outdoor sales (barbecuses, garden furniture etc was up 1%)  UK and Ireland profits were up 11.6% to £271 million. 27 ex Focus stores were converted to the B&Q format. As @28/01/2012 B&Q had 357 stores in the UK and Ireland and 27,047 employess.

Financial Results Year Ended 31/01/2011.

The Kingfisher group had sales of £10,450 million and a profit before taxation of £671m. UK & Ireland Retail Sales were down 2.8% to £3.9 billion..  In the UK B&Q had 330 stores and 23,669 employees.   The UK and Ireland contributed 42% to total group sales.

Financial Results Year Ended 31/01/2010.

The Kingfisher group had sales of £10,503m £10,026m +4.8% +1.1% and a profit before taxation of £566m. UK & Ireland profits were up 64.5% to £217 million. B&Q retail profit margin improved from 2.8% to 4.9% benefiting from sales growth and margin and cost initiatives. In the UK B&Q had 330 stores and 22,801 employees.   During the year  B&Q UK  launched a new and exclusive range of shutters by leading British designer Kelly Hoppen MBE. Each shutter is hand-crafted from FSC certified Poplar and Elm hardwoods and Summer 2010 will see B&Q UK offer customers its best ever outdoors range which will include new gardening kits for kids and a whole range of tools for children to encourage them to grow their own.

B&Q Retail and website www,diy.com

From January - June, 2009, the B&Q website www diy.com was ranked number one in the Hitwise United Kingdom house and garden industry based on monthly average market share. A large B&Q store stocks approximately 40,000 products.and diy.com has over 6,000 products that you can buy online and have delivered plus you can now browse over 35,000 products including paint, power tools, lighting, pressure washers from leading brands like Karcher, Hozelock & Homelite, Gazebos, Lawnmowers from companies like Mountfield, Flymo, Bosch & Black & Decker. Barbecue suppliers include Weber, decking, trampolines, kitchens, bathrooms and garden furniture including outdoor lighting, sunloungers, deck chairs and parasols. Whilst browsing on diy.com, you can now check the stock availability on products for up to three B&Q stores of your choice at any one time. If none of the stores you choose has stock, B&Q will tell you the nearest store that does.