B&Q to create 4,000 jobs

B&Q wants to double the number of stores by 2004

B&Q, the UK chain of do-it-yourself home improvement shops, will open 25 new warehouse stores in 2001 and create about 4,000 new jobs in the process, according to Dan Bernard, stores director.

"The big format B&Q Warehouses are becoming an increasingly important part of the business and they now contribute over 40% of total B&Q sales," he said.

B&Q currently has 57 warehouse stores. The group aims to more than double this number to 125 by 2004.

"We're just opening them as quickly as we can get sites," Mr Bernard said.

Last week, B&Q's owner, the retail group Kingfisher, acquired 28 non-trading former Homebase sites from Sainsbury's as part of that retailer's £1bn deal to sell the chain.

Jobs across the UK

The new B&Q stores, which will be opened across the country, should each employ about 250 people, many of them part time.

"Typically, we run with a 50/50 mix of full-time and part-time jobs," Mr Bernard said.

For each store, the entire team will be recruited locally, except for the management teams, Mr Bernard said.

B&Q will be looking for sales assistants, administration workers, and groups of experts - that is former plumbers, electricians and builders - who can give both customers and tradesmen advice, he said.

The management teams will be transferred from other B&Q branches.

"Obviously, that provides promotion opportunities in our existing stores," Mr Bernard said, adding that one of the group's main challenges is to train managers fast enough to cope with its expansion.

Regional expansion

A full list of locations for the new stores is not yet available, but B&Q has earmarked some sites.

These include Bolton in Greater Manchester and Preston in Lancashire, as well as Ashford in Kent and Hengrove in Bristol.

Among the Homebase sites, Filton in Bristol will open next year along with stores in Chelmsford in Essex and Rotherham in Yorkshire.