B&Q owner eyes warm weather boost as sales fall
B&Q’s FTSE 100 owner will be hoping for a heatwave boost after it blamed poor weather for falling sales at the start of the year.
Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix and home improvement retailers in France and Poland, saw total like-for-like sales dip by 0.9 per cent to £3.3bn in the first quarter of the year.
Like-for-like sales at home improvement retailer B&Q dipped by 4.1 per cent to £1bn in the last three months. Its owner blamed a late start to the spring weather for lower footfall and fewer sales of its seasonal items.
But the group saw like-for-like sales jump 4.1 per cent to £712m at Screwfix, where it said its rewards programme and click and collect services drove growth.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said Kingfisher will be hoping that the bank holiday’s warm weather will spur on sales of fans and garden improvement gear.
“Fans, paddling pools, blackout blinds and ice cube trays will have been filling up real and virtual baskets and could help boost sales at household goods retailers.
“It could help boost sales at DIY firm Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, as customers are likely to have been giving their gardens a spruce up to prepare for the heatwave,” she said.
‘Dog ate my homework’
Russ Mould, investment director at the platform AJ Bell, said: “Blaming the weather for weak trading is often seen in the ‘dog ate my homework’ category of excuses by the market, but the fact it has not forced any downgrades means Kingfisher has kept investors on side.
“Among the areas of positivity is the continued strong growth in the Screwfix business. Kingfisher, like several of its peers, is pursuing trade customers, who are often more reliable and consistent sources of revenue than ordinary consumers.”
Consumer confidence slumped to a two year low in April and analysts have feared that Kingfisher could be hit by people holding off on big home improvement projects.
The group said it has seen a drop off in sales of its big-ticket items like bathroom refurbishments.
Thierry Garnier, the group’s chief executive who announced his departure earlier this month, said he is “mindful of the consumer environment” but “confident” in achieving Kingfisher’s pre-tax profit target of between £565m and £625m.
Kingfisher looks to AI to lift outlook
But the firm is hoping its push into AI will improve its consumer experience and win over investors.
The group has piled investment into AI assistants in the past few years, most recently partnering with Google Cloud to enable AI shopping across its UK and European brands.
Charles Allen, senior retail analyst at Bloomberg: “Large DIY retailers present a positive agentic AI-driven outlook even as share prices have slumped, with potential to lift Kingfisher’s consensus sales by up to 100 bps in the next 12 months, we calculate – a meaningful move amid fragile consumer sentiment.
“Bigger chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s are well placed to benefit as AI improves product discovery, builds fuller project baskets and helps these retailers gain share from smaller rivals with weaker digital capabilities.”
Kingfisher said it has developed more than 50 AI-powered services across its brands since 2022. The firm said its AI shopping tool accounted for £165m in sales over the last year.