6th Sep 2005 09:09
Kingfisher PLC06 September 2005 Tuesday 6th September 2005 B&Q reorganises head office and regional structure Kingfisher plc, the world's third largest home improvement retailer, todayannounces that its UK subsidiary, B&Q, has reorganised its head office andregional structure. The move, which will result in the loss of around 400 jobsat a cost of £12 million, is the first element of a reshaping of the businessunder the new management team at B&Q. Ian Cheshire, who joined B&Q as Chief Executive in June this year, said: "B&Q is one of the country's best known brands and is nearly twice the size ofits nearest competitor. However, we are in a tough retail environment and weneed to play to our strengths to improve customer service and grow sales. Aspart of this we need to streamline the business to focus on supporting storesand serving customers. The restructuring is about making our plan for thefuture work, as well as being driven by the need to cut costs." Kingfisher plc will announce its interim results for the six months to 30th July2005 on 15th September, including further details of management plans to reshapeB&Q in the UK. Enquiries: Ian Harding, Group Communications Director 020 7644 1029 Nigel Cope, Head of Communications 020 7644 1030 Heather Ward, Head of Investor Relations 020 7644 1032 Notes to editors: Kingfisher plc is Europe's leading home improvement retail group and the thirdlargest in the world, with nearly 630 stores in 10 countries in Europe and Asia. Its main retail brands are B&Q, Castorama, Brico Depot and Screwfix Direct.Kingfisher also has a 21% interest in, and strategic alliance with, Hornbach,Germany's leading DIY Warehouse retailer, with 117 stores across Europe. B&Q is the UK's leading home improvement retailer with 335 stores. It employsaround 39,000 people in the UK. The 400 jobs lost will result in 300redundancies and 100 current job vacancies not being filled. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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