Kingfisher chief executive announces exit

LONDON: Flagging European home-improvements retailer Kingfisher announced on Wednesday the departure of chief executive Veronique Laury, and signalled fresh closures of underperforming stores.

The company did give a precise reason for the exit of the Frenchwoman, who has been CEO at the London-listed company since late 2014.

“Kingfisher plc today announces that... a decision has been made to launch the succession process for the position of group chief executive officer,” it said in a brief statement alongside gloomy annual results.

“This will commence immediately. Veronique Laury fully supports the decision, and both she and the board wish to ensure an orderly transition. ”The owner of French chains Castorama and Brico Depot as well as Britain’s B&Q has more than 1,200 stores in 10 countries across Europe, Russia and Turkey.

In recent years, however, the group has been plagued by growing economic uncertainty and turbulent trading conditions in the retail sector.

Kingfisher revealed on Wednesday that annual net profit collapsed by more than half to £218 million ($289 million, 255 million euros) in the group’s financial year that ran to the end of January.

That compared with £485 million in 2017/2018. Total sales churned marginally higher to stand at £11.7 billion. However, on a like-for-like basis that strips out the impact of new floor space, sales slid 1.6 per cent. — AFP