How did B&Q become the largest home improvement chain in Britain?
Block and Quayle develop B&Q
David Quayle (1936 – 2010) was a senior manager at Marley Tiles, which operated a leading chain of town centre DIY shops. He was assigned to manage the Belgian subsidiary. Whilst in Europe he observed the home improvements section of a local hypermarket and was inspired to establish a DIY superstore in Britain.
Quayle partnered with Richard Block (1942 – 2023), his brother-in-law, who was a disillusioned market researcher for Warner Lambert. The pair opened their first home improvement store in a disused cinema in Southampton in 1969.
The store was an instant success, and a second store was opened in Portsmouth in 1970. The Block & Quayle name became shortened to “B&Q”.
B&Q thrived on a philosophy of low-cost sites such as converted garages, basic store interiors and a “pile em high, sell em cheap” concept for leading brands. Discounts were negotiated with suppliers in exchange for prompt payment. Stores had extended opening times of around twelve hours a day.
Block left the business in 1976, later reflecting, “it became less enjoyable with the pressure of growth”.
B&Q went public with a value of £11.75 million in 1979. The business began to expand into purpose-built sites.
B&Q is acquired by Woolworths
Woolworths acquired B&Q, with 33 sites and two percent of the DIY market, for £16.8 million in 1980. The combined group held nearly ten percent of the DIY market.
Woolworths provided capital to expand the number of B&Q outlets. The Dodge City chain of DIY stores was acquired for £20 million in 1981.
Quayle left B&Q in 1982. He later explained, “I left because I felt I had done all I could. We had seen it through and done what we wanted to do”.
Kingfisher becomes a streamlined home improvements retailer
Woolworths was renamed Kingfisher in 1989.
B&Q held 19 percent of the British DIY market by 1998.
NOMI, the leading chain of DIY shops in Poland, was acquired for £16 million in 1998.
55 percent of Castorama, the leading DIY group in Europe, was acquired in 1998. Kingfisher became the third largest home improvements retailer in the world, behind only Home Depot and Lowes of the United States.
Screwfix of Yeovil was acquired for £60 million in 1999.
The B&Q website, diy.com, was launched in 2000.
The Woolworths general store chain was divested in 2001 to leave Kingfisher as a focused DIY group.
The remnant of Castorama was acquired for £3.2 billion in 2002.
NOMI was sold in 2003.
Quayle died with an estate valued at £4.4 million in 2010.
Kingfisher was the third largest home improvement retailer in the world in 2013.