Véronique Laury was named new chief executive of Kingfisher, the largest home improvement retailers in Europe. She replaces Ian Cheshire, who will leave in January after seven years in the position. Laury is head of Kingfisher’s DIY arm in France. She has been with the company for 11 years. The London-based group, whose brands include B&Q, Brico Depot, Screwfix and Hornbach, recently posted a 6.5-percent decrease in profits for the first six months of the year.
“Today’s announcements bring some welcome relief for investors. The new chief executive faces no easy task – France remains at the centre of the eurozone’s difficulties [and] a recent slowing in UK house prices could take the shine off B&Q going forward,” Keith Bowman, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, was quoted as saying in the UK Guardian.
