Kingfisher has reported that third quarter like-for-like sales at B&Q in the UK and Ireland were down by 2.9% amid plans to exit Russia, Spain and Portugal.
The company has said that it was making good progress with its transformation plan and was set to achieve its main strategic milestones for the third year in a row, despite tougher trading conditions.
Véronique Laury, Kingfisher chief executive, said: "Transformation on this scale is tough, and we are operating in a difficult retail environment. We face challenges and we are addressing them. Our main challenge is Castorama France and we shared our action plan to fix it at the half year. Our action plan is now implemented for this year. We have accelerated our move to an everyday low- price strategy and have launched a new marketing campaign to make it visible to our customers, however there is no quick fix,”
"We are committed to our plan and to building a strong business for the long-term. As part of this commitment, we have taken the decision to exit Russia, Spain and Portugal. This will allow us to apply our strategy with more focus and efficiency in our main markets where we have, or can reach, a market leading position and create good homes by making home improvement accessible for everyone.”
