B&Q owner names Carrefour’s Garnier as new chief executive

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher has turned to Carrefour's Thierry Garnier to be its new chief executive and revive its fortunes, succeeding Veronique Laury, it said on Thursday.

Kingfisher, whose main businesses are B&Q and Screwfix, as well as Castorama and Brico Depot in France and elsewhere, is in the fourth year of a five-year programme that was designed to boost earnings.

However, profits went backwards in its 2018/19 year and the group said in March it would part company with Ms Laury, its chief executive since 2014.

Shares in Kingfisher have fallen 31 per cent over the last year.

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Mr Garnier, who has spent 20 years in senior roles at the French multinational retailer, will join Kingfisher in the autumn, though the date is yet to be finalised.

He is currently a member of the Carrefour group executive committee and chief executive of Carrefour Asia, where he is responsible for over 350 stores in China and Taiwan, with 55,000 employees, and gross sales of over €6 billion.

"Throughout his career, he has led significant businesses through complex change programmes while operating in competitive and rapidly changing retail environments," said Kingfisher chairman Andy Cosslett. – Reuters