B&Q launches new trade brand

A year after it closed Trade Depot, B&Q parent Kingfisher plc is investing £26m in a new trade-focused operation.

TradePoint will operate out of 118 B&Q stores by late summer, having been successfully trialled at nine stores around the country for the last year.

TradePoint is a 4,000 sq ft dedicated area within a B&Q store, with its own separate entrance, exit and payment area, a trade only manager and a team of eight. Access is restricted to TradePoint members who have been verified as genuine tradesmen.

Kingfisher says that the new format will combine B&Q’s extended opening hours, convenient locations, heavy building ranges, showrooms and retail products with Screwfix’s ranges and logistics expertise to “create a merchant environment with extended trade brands and trade only prices, all exclusively for tradesmen”.

Brands stocked include: Dulux, Ronseal, Mira, Biasi, Bosch, De Walt, Makita, Fisher, Rothenburger, Lafarge, Wylex, Vent-Axia as well as kitchens and bathrooms and appliances.

Euan Sutherland, CEO of Kingfisher UK and B&Q says; “TradePoint represents a massive opportunity for Kingfisher in the UK bringing together the best of B&Q’s retail locations and standards with Screwfix’s trade infrastructure. We hope to bring a real boost to Britain’s builders and tradesmen by creating new jobs in the sector and giving the trade what they want – speed, personal service, trade products at trade only prices.”

The investment will create around 1,000 new jobs this year and £0.5 m is also being invested in a new TradePoint Academy for staff.