Failed DIY boss gets shelved
B&Q chief out as profits tumble
THE boss of DIY giant B&Q’s owner is to go after another plunge in profits.
Veronique Laury is paying the price for a failed turnaround in Kingfisher’s fortunes.
Laury pledged to boost annual profits by £500million by the end of 2020/21. Instead they’ve gone backwards.
Kingfisher yesterday revealed profits crashed 52.8% to £322m in the year to the end of January.
They fell 13% to £693m after stripping out one-off costs, including £111m related to store closures. B&Q’s sales dropped 2.8% to £3.4billion last year. But Kingfisher’s biggest problem is French DIY chain Castorama, where sales tumbled more than 7%.
Screwfix, the firm’s builders’ merchants arm, continued to prove a hit in the UK, with sales up 4%, but the chain struggled in Germany.
No date has been given for when Laury will leave. She said it was the “right time”.
Laury took over as chief executive in December 2014 and is one of just five female bosses of a FTSE 100 company.
Kingfisher’s finance chief Karen Witts is also leaving.
The boardroom clearout came as the firm said it was considering closing 15 loss-making stores over the next two years, including shops in the UK.
Chairman Andy Cosslett paid tribute to Laury, saying: “Being chief executive is a big challenge at any time, but in the current retail environment and given the scale of the challenge, the role here is a particularly gruelling one.”
B&Q’s turnaround under Laury has seen Kingfisher shut 65 shops and slash around 3,000 workers across the UK and Ireland.
It has also been shaking up its product ranges.