Home improvement retailer Kingfisher Plc, the company that owns the B&Q and Screwfix, has reported a 0.8 per cent decline in second-quarter sales at stores open for more than a year.
It follows a decline of 1.8 per cent at similar stores in the first quarter of 2010. Business analysts Bloomberg have the story:
Kingfisher Sales Decline as Britons Reduce Spending on Bathrooms, Kitchens
Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer, said second-quarter sales declined as the U.K. B&Q chain offered fewer promotions and Britons cut spending on large items such as bathrooms and kitchens.
Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 0.8 percent, excluding currency swings, in the 10 weeks ended July 10, the London-based company said today in a statement. The decline was led by the U.K., where same-store sales dropped 4.4 percent.
Consumer spending “remains under pressure, notably in the U.K.,” Chief Executive Officer Ian Cheshire said in the statement. British mortgage approvals fell in June as tighter lending conditions and weaker confidence curbed housing demand, according to preliminary Bank of England data.