Page 45 - HW June 2019

global eyes
Kingfisher
rolls out new
GoodHome
“convenience”
brand
KINGFISHER GROUP’S LATEST step in its path towards transformation is a new overarching brand called GoodHome that’s not just about own brand products but also new store concepts.
Having launched GoodHome branded products earlier this year in the paint category, Kingfisher is not only taking the brand into other categories but also into physical retail.
CEO, Véronique Laury, explained at Kingfisher’s Innovation Day event in May: “We saw this opportunity three years ago and re-thought every part of how we operate.
“We started to build the engine
and create the conditions for a new, innovative customer experience. GoodHome is the exciting next step in that transformation.
“GoodHome is our new international home improvement customer proposition... It stands for ... simple, sustainable, unique and innovative solutions that last and which are affordable.”
The result of much planning and a
study of thousands of people across 10 countries, with the new brand Kingfisher’s basic pitch is about reducing the stress and complication associated with home improvement by focusing less on products and more on common DIY projects.
GoodHome products and services will be available starting this month online and in B&Q, Castorama and Brico Dépôt stores throughout the UK, France, Poland and Romania.
The GoodHome brand is also being applied to a new physical store concept, the first of which is bannered “GoodHome by B&Q” and opened in Wallington near Croydon, Surrey, in April.
Described by Kingfisher as a “convenience store” and on a much smaller scale than the average B&Q, the pilot GoodHome by B&Q store is very pitched at a local level and makes much of the availability of its “team of skilled colleagues offering expert help”.
As well as digital tools to help with project planning, GoodHome by B&Q offers in-house designers and expert help (to be fed by the renamed GoodHome
Academy), products at everyday low prices and which have “sustainability designed in from the start” (eg low waste taps and air-purifying paint).
GoodHome by B&Q is meant to be
“a friendly and efficient experience”, designed to reduce the stress and complication often associated with home improvement projects.
There is also much evidence in-store of efforts around improving the digital shopping experience with strategically placed digital browsers so customers can order products and collect them immediately in-store.
The pilot GoodHome by B&Q store is even offering a 5-minute click & collect service during opening hours.
The core range comprises 6,000 products covering the most frequent and urgent projects (painting walls, fixing taps etc) with access to a further 20,000+ products for bigger projects that are available for next day click & collect in-store or home delivery.
The store also has a dedicated counter for the trade and a key cutting service.
Brands in-store include DeWalt, Makita, Site, Bosch, Stanley, MK, Wylex, Mapei, Blue Circle, Thistle and Erbauer.
We understand the convenience store concept will be trialled further afield, in France and at other locations in the UK.
Kingfisher’s big reveal also took in the launch of the GoodHome Foundation,
a network of charitable foundations
in each of the DIY giant’s key markets
– UK, France, Poland and Romania – aiming to “make good homes and home improvement accessible to everyone.”
While Kingfisher is clearly taking positive steps towards a more profitable future, its Q1 trading update to 30 April 2019 revealed another modest top line gain at £2.8 billion (+1.7%) along with equally modest overall like for likes (+0.8%).
www.kingfisher.com/GoodHome
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JUNE 2019 | NZHJ 43