Kingfisher acquires NeedHelp service platform

Kingfisher, owner in France of the Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands, said in a press release that he held 80% of the capital of the French start-up, while its founder, Guillaume de Kergariou, retained 20% of the shares.

The NeedHelp platform allows, "online or directly in store", to connect customers who need help to carry out their work with DIY experts, professional craftsmen or private individuals.

"With this transaction, Kingfisher is extending its service offering and accelerating its digital transformation. This equity investment is a significant step forward in the achievement of one of the major priorities of the group's new strategy, + Powered by Kingfisher +, which aims to offer a customer experience resolutely turned towards the mobile and the services ", it is indicated.

Founded in 2014, NeedHelp is mainly present in France, but also in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. The platform "already offers its services to customers of more than 500 stores, including in particular the Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands of the Kingfisher group in France", details the press release.

"Online service platforms have a key role to play in defining the future of our sector. To better serve our customers, we must be resolutely digitally oriented and develop the services we offer them, while continuing to rely on the assets of our stores ", commented Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, quoted in the press release.

"In the coming months, we will rapidly develop NeedHelp's activity in the United Kingdom and in Poland by capitalizing on our large network of stores and on the different identities of our brands, which are aimed at both individuals and to professionals, "he said.