Harsh weather hits sales
B&Q has reported a 9% drop in like-for-like quarterly sales ending in April following an exceptionally harsh winter that resulted in temporary store closures.
Overall, total sales at the group were down by 1.2% to £2.8bn, while UK sales were down 3.7% to £1.2bn.
Veronique Laury, CEO of Kingfisher said:
“It was a challenging start to the year with exceptionally harsh weather across Europe and weak UK consumer demand. This impacted footfall, especially sales of weather related categories. February and March were particularly affected with sales improving over the course of April and into May.
Market conditions continue to be mixed. The UK is uncertain, as demonstrated by recent weak retail sales data; France is encouraging, but volatile, whilst Poland continues to be supportive.”
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