Fifty-four years ago, a couple of guys called Richard Block and David Quayle bought a disused cinema in Southampton and opened a store, selling supplies to the emerging DIY hobby market.
DIY as a hobby wasn’t a big market at the time.
B&Q became a household name and brand known for its huge stores and retail parks around the country. But you don’t survive that long in the business without changing things up now and then.
On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Graham Bell, who took the reins as CEO of B&Q in 2018, a company that’s part of the Kingfisher group now.
Graham has seen the company through a rapid evolution, and despite the company’s long history, we want to know what it’s doing now and how it’s adapting to a market that changes faster than most people put up new wallpaper.
Plus, how did B&Q manage in the Covid 19 pandemic when customers could no longer visit stores?
In this episode, we talk about:
•His first day on the job and what his priorities were
•How they managed during the Covid pandemic, and how it turbocharged their development
•What the company's priorities are now
•How customer demands led to them opening smaller stores
•Why he's grateful to the person who bought the diy.com URL all those years ago
Listen above, find us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you stream your podcasts.
This podcast is released every other Monday on all major platforms. Recent guests include Joseph Joseph’s Richard Joseph, Charlie Bigham, BT Business CEO Bas Burger, and many more.
