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Summary
- Kingfisher plc has acquired a rapidly growing Business-to-Business-to-Consumer platform ‘NeedHelp’
- The acquisition will strengthen the digital capabilities of the company as Needhelp is an established digital player in the market
Kingfisher plc (LON: KGF), the global retailer dealing in home improvement, has strengthened its market position by acquiring an innovative Business-to-Business-to-Consumer(B2B2C) platform NeedHelp.
Founded in France, NeedHelp, is a rapidly growing platform that connects customers who need assistance in home improvement either in-store or online. NeedHelp will continue to operate as an independent entity. Also, through its open architecture model, it will keep offering its installation capabilities to retail customers for home improvement. NeedHelp founder Guillaume de Kergariou has reinvested earnings from the sale for a 20 per cent in the business, making Kingfisher’s ownership at 80 per cent.
Kingfisher, which has a worldwide presence with 1,370 stores, employs around 78,000 people, and offer home improvement products and services to consumers and trade professionals under popular retail brands like B&Q, Screwfix, Brico Dépôt, Castorama, TradePoint and Koçtaş. The latest acquisition of NeedHelp will help it immensely as it is an established digital player in the market.
Commenting on the acquisition, Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said that the NeedHelp is a recognised and fast-growing player in the online services marketplaces and its acquisition will strengthen the digital capabilities as nowadays to serve customers effectively a company needs to be more digital and service orientated.
Acquisition benefits
Kingfisher is planning to introduce the NeedHelp platform in the UK as well as Poland, where it will aid the retail customers of B&Q in their home improvement projects. Also, it will be used for liaising with Screwfix's customer base of trade professionals.
CEO Thierry has stated that going forward Kingfisher will soon build NeedHelp in the UK and Poland underpinned by the company’s extensive store network and different popular retail banners that serve both home improvers and tradespeople. The acquisition presents an exciting opportunity for the company to create a more comprehensive services offering, he added.
Kingfisher Financial updates
Kingfisher recently came up with a strong set of numbers for the third quarter of the year, sales for the period was up 17.6 per cent to £3.5 billion in constant currency terms.
A strong performance was witnessed across all the categories and retail banners. Most importantly, the click & collect sales showed a huge growth of 216 per cent, now contributing 77 per cent of group e-commerce sales, up from 61 per cent recorded in the same period last year.
During the third quarter, the company repaid the £23 million to the UK Government, which it had received under the Job Retention Scheme. Also, the company completed the disposal of Castorama Russia for a consideration of about £73 million.
Taking it region wise, UK and Ireland sales grew by 21.5 per cent, France was up by 16.6 per cent, and sales from Other International regions (excluding Russia) was up by 11.4 per cent in constant currency.
Even though the near-term visibility remains restricted due to pandemic uncertainty, Kingfisher is all geared for strong growth with a renewed focus on homes. The company is having a strong liquidity headroom and is making all preparation to meet the conditions of a new trading relationship with the EU or a no-deal Brexit.
