Kingfisher plc

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Kingfisher plc

Type	Public (LSE:KFG)
Founded	1982
Headquarters	London,United Kingdom
Key people	Gerry Murphy, CEO & Chairman
Industry	Retail (Home Improvement)
Products	Home improvement products such as appliances, tools, hardware, and garden supplies & plants.
Revenue	7.655 billion GBP (2005)
Employees	58,712
Website	www.kingfisher.co.uk

Kingfisher plc is a UK-based international retailer, which has owned a wide variety of retailers in its history but is now focused on the DIY business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Kingfisher was founded in 1982 by the buyout of the British Woolworths chain by Paternoster Stores Ltd which later changed its name to Woolworths Holdings plc. Subsequent acquisitions of companies included B&Q, Superdrug, Comet and MVC that expanded the group. The group was renamed Kingfisher plc in 1994. - - Further acquisitions of European companies such as Castorama, BUT and Wegert enabled the group to grow to become the largest general retail group in the UK. In 1999, Kingfisher attempted a takeover of Asda, one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, only to be pipped to the post by Wal-Mart. Coupled with an acrimonious battle for control of Castorama, the resultant share price pressure forced the sale and demerger of several parts of the group by 2001, including Woolworths, until the demerger of the electricals business to form KESA in 2003 caused the group to refocus entirely around DIY.

The Group was led between 1984 and 2002 by Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy who became renowned for his taciturn public persona, lengthy decision-making and love of sailing. Largely through his influence, Kingfisher became the major sponsor of British sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur.

The companies now part of the Kingfisher group are:

B&Q; operations in the UK, Asia, China, South Korea and Taiwan.
Brico Dépôt; in France and Spain.
Castorama; operations in France, Italy, Poland and Russia.
Hornbach Holding AG
KOCTAS
Screwfix Direct Ltd.

Kingfisher's turnover for the financial year ending 29 January 2005 topped £7.6 billion. Profits before tax were £670.9 million and profit for the year was £469 million. Revenues peaked at over £12 billion in 2001 before the demergers.