B&Q stores in Saudi Arabia closed

B&Q has closed its two franchise stores in Saudi Arabia, as the Kingfisher-owned company stated in its final results from mid-March 2024. The closure therefore took place at the beginning of 2024. “We are re-focusing efforts on wholesale and franchise agreements in other markets,” the company report adds. This would mean withdrawing from Saudi Arabia. According to B&Q, wholesale agreements are currently in place in three countries in Europe and the Middle East.

The two stores in Saudi Arabia, which were originally scheduled to open in autumn 2021, were operated by the Al-Futtaim Group. They had almost 5,000 m² of retail space.

The Al-Futtaim Group is active in several sectors with more than 200 brands in over 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. As well as operating the Ikea stores in Egypt, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates since 1991, it has a presence in the United Arab Emirates as a member of the US specialist trade cooperative Ace Hardware. It also operates furnishing stores under the Homeworks brand in Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and has a Homezone store in Bahrain.