B&Q has made the decision to sever its relationship with Asda and shut down eight concessions around the UK in order to concentrate on launching more compact, high street fascias.
As B&Q concentrates on its smaller-format high street stores, its concessions in Asda’s stores throughout the UK are expected to go.
According to a report by Retail Week, the relationship, which initially started in 2020, is now poised to come to an end since the concessions in eight of the Big 4 grocer’s superstores will be shut down as of March 11.
Asda test-and-learn experiment, both companies will continue to build on the lessons learned but won’t be continuing with the concessions at Asda shops.
Customers responded favorably to the proposal, and Asda will use the lessons learnt to guide its broader concessions approach.
57 employees are anticipated to be impacted by the change, and they will be given the opportunity to work in other B&Q’s locations.
Chris Bargate, director of business strategy and development at B&Q, commented on the cooperation with Asda to Retail Week, saying, “The things we’ve been focusing on over the last several years are testing and learning is incredibly essential for us.
“In the format area, that’s actually true, and we’ve had to guess and figure out what people respond to best.”
We’ve tried a ton of different things, and now we’re focusing even more on the Local idea because we believe it has genuine potential throughout the UK, said Bargate.
“As a result of that double-down, we’ve decided to end our affiliation with Asda. As a result of believing that this is where the most opportunity lies, we are now solely concentrating our efforts on these smaller-format retailers.
