B&Q, the Kingfisher-owned DIY powerhouse, is considering expanding into India and other south Asian markets following its success in China.
The retailer, which has a turnover of£6 billion, has 14 stores in China and plans to add 60 by 2008.
Speaking on Monday at the DIY and Garden Show Conference, Kingfisher international and development chief exe-cutive Ian Cheshire said: 'The Asian markets are phenomenal. We are opening in Korea at the end of the year and our two tips for the longer term are India and Thailand.'
India is increasingly being tipped at the next big battleground for retailers, after China and Russia. German retailer Metro opened its first cash-and-carry store in the subcontinent last year, and Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott said last week he is interested in India's potential.
'The food players tend to be there four or five years before us,' said Cheshire.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch this week revised its economic growth estimate for India for the year to March 2004 from 7.3 per cent to 8 per cent.
Growth is then expected to accelerate to an average of 8.5 per cent a year from 2005 to 2007 on the back of increased infrastructure spending and regulatory progress.
Official Indian figures project that household consumption will double between now and 2008 to US$500 billion (£273.19 billion). The country has an estimated population of 1.05 billion.
Separately, Cheshire dismissed speculation about an imminent swoop on Kingfisher by US DIY giant Home Depot. He said the fall in the value of the dollar would probably make a deal too expensive.
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