B&Q and Screwfix group projects DIY market will be flat at best

Owner Kingfisher said it remained cautious on the overall market outlook for 2024 'due to the lag between housing demand and home improvement demand'

Sales in core categories, such as tools and hardware, fell 0.3% in the first quarter.

Kingfisher — which owns the B&Q and Screwfix outlets — has projected the outlook for sales this year in the overall home improvement market in Britain and Ireland will at best be flat, and it will focus on reducing costs instead. 

"We are confident in the delivery of circa £120m [€140m] of additional cost reductions and productivity gains this year, to partially offset higher pay rates and technology investments," Kingfisher, which also has significant retail operations in France and Poland, said in a trading update.