RIYADH — Al-Futtaim Group has launched B&Q KSA, with the first two stores now open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following the announcement of a franchise partnership with Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement group and B&Q’s parent company, in 2021. The opening of the B&Q franchise stores in Saudi Arabia is the latest offering of Al-Futtaim Group in the home improvement sector, which is expected to see strong growth over the coming years. The two new stores in Riyadh, each with a built-up area of over 5,000 square meters, are located in King Abdullah Road and Al-Farooq District of Riyadh. In launching B&Q KSA, Al-Futtaim Group aims to offer both retail and trade customers everything they need for home improvement at great prices with the best customer experience. The new B&Q KSA stores offer a wide range of top-quality products across outdoor living, kitchen and dinnerware, decorative products, tools and hardware, garden furniture and equipment, storage, lighting, bathroom, and paint mixing, among other essential items for home improvement. Over 60% of the products at the B&Q KSA stores are exclusive and international, featuring brands from Kingfisher’s portfolio of owned exclusive brands, such as Erbauer, Magnusson, and GoodHome, alongside other well-known international brands like JJA, Karcher, Bosch and more; all designed to make home improvement easier for customers. Currently, both stores offer services such as free returns within 30 days, home delivery and paint mixing with free timber cutting, click and collect, design studio and kitchen fit-out planned in the next quarter. Speaking on the occasion of the opening of B&Q KSA stores, Regis Schultz, President of Al-Futtaim Retail Group, said: “The business partnership between Al-Futtaim and Kingfisher is a great opportunity to expand our retail operation in the attractive home improvement market of the Kingdom.” “Al-Futtaim Group’s strategic roadmap has enabled us to adopt the business best practices and seize opportunities to bring the best global brands under one roof to the region,” he added. Schultz said that “the plan to open B&Q stores in the Saudi capital is important keeping in view the growth of Riyadh, which aims to more than double its population and become one of the 10 richest cities in the world under the ambitious plans unveiled by the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman recently.” Today, with a population of about eight million, Riyadh city is one of the fastest-growing capitals of the world, he observed. Referring to the expansion plan of Al-Futtaim Group with special reference to the opening of the two stores in Riyadh, Colin McMahon, general manager of B&Q Middle East for the Al-Futtaim Group said: “Our customers will be able to access a range of leading home improvement products and access expert advice alongside their regular shop, as this new partnership with Kingfisher brings a broader range of international products and services, exclusive in KSA, to our stores,”. “The first B&Q stores in Saudi Arabia will be supported by an e-commerce proposition very soon”, he added. B&Q KSA is part of a franchise business owned and operated by the Al-Futtaim Group in partnership with Kingfisher plc. The parent company, popularly known as Al-Futtaim Group is one of the most diversified and progressive business giants, with its headquarters in Dubai. Al-Futtaim Group’s partner Kingfisher plc is an international home improvement company with approximately 1,490 stores and over 80,000 employees in eight countries. — SG