DIY chain Kingfisher (KGF) warned of ‘significant’ uncertainty ahead, as the home improvement retailer shut stores in France and Spain after governments in both countries ramped up measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Following an announcement by the French government on 14 March to close all non-essential places used by the public, all 221 of Kingfisher’s Castorama and Brico Depot stores in France had closed, and won’t open again until at least Wednesday 15 April.
All 28 stores in Spain had also slammed the doors shut, with developments to be reassessed by 30 March. This follows the Spanish government's declaration of a two-week state of emergency, the company said.
CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY
Kingfisher, which runs the B&Q chain in the UK, said that up to 14 March it had experienced no impact on demand from coronavirus.
In February, group like-for-like sales were up 7.6% and, in the first two weeks of March sales had continued to be positive, the company said. Approximately 25% of Kingfisher’s annual cost of goods sold are sourced directly from the Far East.
‘In China, over 95% of our vendors’ factories have reopened, with capacity starting to rebuild,’ the company said. ‘At this moment over 85% of placed orders have a less than four-week delay against their original schedule.’
But while nearly all of Kingfisher’s supplier factories remain open in hard hit Italy at the moment, uncertainty remains over how goods can be transported from the region.
Kingfisher shares slumped 17% on Monday to 114.2p, valuing the business at around £2.4bn.
