Kingfisher is to close its B&Q stores in South Korea and withdraw from the country. Daily Telegraph


In a setback for its strongly performing Asian division, Britain’s biggest home improvement retailer took the decision after conducting a review of its fledgling operation in South Korea.

The group leased two trial stores from Korean department store group Lotte in the capital, Seoul, under the name B&Q Home, in the past year. But soaring property costs and a lack of suitable sites have led B&Q’s Asia chief executive, Steve Gilman, to conclude that a large-scale roll-out is not feasible.

'South Korea was a trial market for Kingfisher and, as such, kept under close review,' he said Gilman.

However, elsewhere in Asia Kingfisher is trading strongly, with more than £450m of sales in the year to 3 February and like-for-like sales up almost 11%. In Taiwan, Kingfisher operates through a 50:50 joint venture and is now the country’s market leader. Next month, B&Q’s first Hong Kong store will open.