Kingfisher plc

Kingfisher plc is a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London. It is the largest home improvement retailer in Europe, and the third-largest in the world (behind The Home Depot and Lowe's). It has over 1,176 stores, in eleven countries across Asia and Europe, and its brands include B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix.

Kingfisher is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

History

Kingfisher was founded in 1982, by the buyout of the British Woolworths chain by Paternoster Stores Ltd, which later changed its name to Woolworth Holdings plc. The Company expanded through subsequent acquisitions of companies such as B&Q, Superdrug and Comet. It was led from 1984 (until his retirement in 2002) by Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, who became renowned for his taciturn public persona, lengthy decision-making and love of sailing. Largely through his influence, Kingfisher became the major sponsor of British sailor Ellen MacArthur. It was renamed Kingfisher plc in 1989.

Ian Cheshire

Ian Cheshire may refer to:

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found outside of the Americas. The group is treated either as a single family, the Alcedinidae, or as a suborder Alcedines containing three families, Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). Roughly 90 species of kingfishers are described. All have large heads, long, sharp, pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. Most species have bright plumage with few differences between the sexes. Most species are tropical in distribution, and a slight majority are found only in forests. They consume a wide range of prey, as well as fish, usually caught by swooping down from a perch. While kingfishers are usually thought to live near rivers and eat fish, most species live away from water and eat small invertebrates. Like other members of their order, they nest in cavities, usually tunnels dug into the natural or artificial banks in the ground. A quarter of all kingfishers nest in disused termite nests. A few species, principally insular forms, are threatened with extinction. In Britain, the word "kingfisher" normally refers to the common kingfisher.

Véronique Laury

Véronique Laury (born June 1965) is a French businesswoman, chief executive officer (CEO) of Kingfisher, a UK based retail group.

Véronique Laury was born in June 1965.

In September 2014, it was announced that Laury would replace Ian Cheshire as CEO of Kingfisher plc, a FTSE 100 a British multinational retail company from February 2015. Laury has worked at Castorama, a subsidiary of Kingfisher, for eleven years, including roles at B&Q.

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