Screwfix to open over 50 stores with around 600 new jobs being created across the UK and Ireland as DIY sector booms
- Screwfix said 80% of new stores and over 500 jobs will be generated in the UK
- The firm recently reached the £2bn annual sales mark for the first time ever
- DIY stores have benefited in the last year from being classed as essential
DIY and building retailer Screwfix has announced plans to open more than 50 outlets and create about 600 positions across the UK and Ireland in 2021.
It said 80 per cent of new stores and over 500 jobs will be generated in the UK by the end of January next year and will be concentrated in retail management, service assistants and supervisors.
The retailer, which is owned by B&Q’s parent company Kingfisher, is also proposing to increase its total number of stores in the British Isles to beyond 900 compared to its former target of 800.
Screwfix is proposing to increase its total number of stores in the British Isles to over 900
It currently has 711 stores in the United Kingdom and 12 in the Republic of Ireland and has experienced a rip-roaring trade during the lockdown due to a massive boom in demand for home renovation as people work less often from offices.
Screwfix has also benefited from its status as an essential retailer, which has allowed its shops to always remain open to customers. In contrast, other establishments like pubs, bars and clothes retailers have been forced to close at times.
The business announced that it had reached the £2billion annual sales mark in the 2020/21 financial year for the first time ever and just five years after it achieved £1billion in yearly purchases.
It said it has averaged one store opening a week in the last five years and had seen its online and click & collect sales shoot up, especially during the pandemic.
For example, in the three months to October 31 2020, the company observed its total sales growing 17.4 per cent year-on-year on the back of higher demand from trade customers and opened 17 new outlets.
B&Q did register a larger sales increase of 23.9 per cent though, with Kingfisher crediting both weather and non-weather related categories, as well as its latest kitchen range for the strong performance.
In the three months to October 31 2020, Screwfix’s total sales grew 17.4 per cent as it said it saw higher demand from trade customers and opened 17 new outlets
The group is set to open its first establishment in the Middle East following a franchise deal Kingfisher signed last week with the Dubai-based conglomerate Al-Futtaim Group, with two stores in Saudi Arabia set to launch this autumn.
Kingfisher’s growth has been so strong that the firm announced in December that it was paying back £130million that it claimed in business rates relief, on top of the £23million it agreed to hand back in furlough money last September.
Screwfix’s chief executive John Mewett, said: ‘I am incredibly proud of all Screwfix colleagues for their support in continuing to keep our customers supplied safely. We’re delighted to be opening 50 new stores this year, creating 600 jobs.
‘The growing demand for convenience means we now see scope for over 900 stores in the UK & Ireland, which will help our busy customers get their jobs done.
‘We know that time is money for our customers, and these new stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland enable us to provide our customers with added convenience and certainty, and provide even more job opportunities for local communities when they need it most.’
Shares in Kingfisher ended trading 2.5 per cent higher at 308.3p today.