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Kingfisher plc
Type	Public (LSE: KGF)
Founded	1982
Headquarters	London, England, United Kingdom
Key people	Ian Cheshire, CEO & Chairman
Industry	Retail (Home Improvement)
Products	Home improvement products such as home appliances, tools, hardware, and garden supplies & plants.
Revenue	£9,364 million (2008)
Operating income	£453 million (2008)
Net income	£272 million (2008)
Employees	71,000 (2008)
Website	www.kingfisher.co.uk

Kingfisher plc (LSE: KGF) is a UK-based international retailer, which has owned a wide variety of retail chains in its history but is now focused on the DIY business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

[edit] History

Kingfisher was founded in 1982 by the buyout of the British Woolworths chain by Paternoster Stores Ltd. which later changed its name to Woolworth Holdings plc.^[1] The Company expanded through subsequent acquisitions of companies such as B&Q, Superdrug and Comet.^[1] It was led from 1984 (until his retirement in 2002) by Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, who became renowned for his taciturn public persona, lengthy decision-making and love of sailing. Largely through his influence, Kingfisher became the major sponsor of British sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur.^[2] It was renamed Kingfisher plc in 1989.^[1]

Further acquisitions of European companies such as Castorama,^[3] BUT S.A.^[4] and Wegert^[5] enabled the Company to grow to become the largest general retail business in the UK. In 1999, Kingfisher attempted a takeover of Asda, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, only to be beaten by Wal-Mart.^[6] Coupled with an acrimonious battle for control of Castorama,^[7] the resultant share price pressure forced the sale and demerger of several parts of the Company by 2001, including Woolworths (forming the Woolworths Group),^[8] and the demerger of the electricals business to form Kesa Electricals in 2003 - causing the Company to refocus entirely around DIY.^[9]

The Company was led by Gerry Murphy from 2002 until 2008.^[10]

In January 2008 Kingfisher appointed Ian Cheshire as Group Chief Executive.^[10] Ian was formerly B&Q's Chief Executive; this role was taken over in April 2009 by Euan Sutherland, who also has the role of Chief Executive of the UK Division of Kingfisher.^[11]

Kingfisher has financially impressed in the UK during the last 6 months and is also doing well in the Chinese and Polish markets due to economic growth and is predicted to continue this growth in the next 12 months as home owners continue to improve the value of their homes.

[edit] Operations

Kingfisher currently operates 780 stores in 9 European and Asian countries. Its main retail brands are B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, Trade Depot and Screwfix^[12].

The companies now part of the Kingfisher group are:

B&Q; operations in the UK, Ireland, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Trade Depot; 9 branches in the UK.
Brico Dépôt; in France and Spain.
Castorama; in France, Poland and Russia.
Hornbach DIY; with over 120 stores across Europe; Kingfisher holds a 21% stake.
KOCTAS; in Turkey.
Screwfix; 150 branches in the UK, plus mail and internet ordering^[13].

[edit] References

[edit] See also

European Retail Round Table

[edit] External links

Companies portal

[history-0] Kingfisher History

[1] Kingfisher continues sponsorship

[2] French turn eyes to International Arena

[3] Kingfisher takes stake in French retailer

[4] Kingfisher builds position in Germany

[5] Wal-Mart buys Asda in UK retail shock

[6] Kingfisher swoops for Castorama

[7] Kingfisher springs demerger surprise

[8] Kesa Chief's pay will double after split

[retail-9] The Retail Bulletin

[10] New man in B&Q hot seat

[11] Kingfisher: Company overview

[12] Kingfisher: Timeline

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Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Operations

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links