B&Q will spend up to£1 million per store upgrading its Supercentres to mini-Warehouses.
The mini-Warehouses are designed to stock a wider range than Supercentres, and carry approximately 6,000 extra lines. B&Q has already converted four stores and has seen sales increase by up to 30 per cent.
A total of 175 Supercentre stores will be converted, at a cost of up to£175 million. However, a Kingfisher spokeswoman said many of the newer shops would not require the full investment. She said the conversions would take place over 'a number of years'.
A further 50 Supercentre stores will be relocated before being converted.
Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Whitehead said: 'The primary reason for (the conversions) is to give a new lease of life to the Supercentre stores.
'Many of them have been around for a long time. There is a subsidiary factor that in some of the markets it's difficult to get planning permission, but the bigger B&Q Warehouse is still successful and they are planning to open a lot more of them.' Whitehead said the capital expenditure would not be a burden on the business.
Mini-Warehouses offer approximately 70 per cent of the 35,000-strong standard Warehouse range.
No comments yet