B&Q

B&Q is a British retailer of DIY and home improvement tools and supplies. It was founded in 1969 and as of 2004 is the largest DIY retailer in Europe and the third largest in the world. It is a subsidiary of the retail group Kingfisher PLC, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

B&Q was founded in March 1969 in Southampton by Richard Block and David Quayle. The store was originally called Block & Quayle, but this was soon shortened to B&Q. This first store soon spawned others across the UK; by 1979 there were 26. By this time, the first of the co-founders had left the business: Block left in 1976 and Quayle in 1982.

B&Q grew rapidly during this time through a combination of mergers, aquisitions and expansions. In 1980, B&Q bought the Scottish company Dodge City, and was itself acquired by FW Woolworth. FW Woolworth and B&Q were bought, two years later, by Paternoster, who are now known as Kingfisher PLC and are still B&Q's parent company as of 2004.

In the late-1990s, B&Q became active in the rest of Europe and the rest of the world. First, in 1995 it co-operated with parent company Kingfisher PLC to open its first oversea subsidiary in Taiwan, and 1996 the first oversea large home improvement center in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. In 1998, it acquired NOMI, Poland's leading chain of DIY stores; later that year B&Q merged with France's Castorama. In 1999 B&Q opened a store in Shanghai, and acquired the British hardware mailorder company, Screwfix.

By 2000 B&Q had 50 of its larger Warehouse stores; this had doubled by 2003. As of 2004, B&Q in the UK had 320 stores and employed 36,000 people. Its 2003/04 turnover was £3.9 billion, and profit £372 million.

B&Q advertises under the slogan "You can do it when you B&Q it".

B&Q sponsored Ellen MacArthur's round the world sailing success in trimaran "B&Q".

External link

• B&Q Online – official site