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Mr Bricolage


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Following on a bit from a discussion we were having about France and it's current problems it would seems that there are still issues concerning the takeover of Mr Bricolage by Kingfisher.

This has been going on for some time and should the takeover go ahead it would mean the closure of 33 franchise stores and 11 directly owned Mr Bricolage shops out of a total of about 500 in France to satisfy the regulator. It would seem this is not acceptable and the takeover may not now go ahead. Having read about this in the past I get the impression that some form of barrier has been put up at every turn.

Mr Bricolage has been struggling for a few years now and many shops have already been sold off with it's profits continuing to decline. Our local one was sold off last year costing 10 people their jobs. The Kingfisher offer is a good one but as every day goes by it looks even better for Mr Bricolage and worse for Kingfisher. I fear there will come a time when Kingfisher decides to walk away and then they won't be looking at just a few stores closing but all of them. I guess the 'mental adjustment' problem on the French side is not helped because not only is new CEO of Kingfisher French (ex Castorama) but it's a she.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/26/kingfisher-buyout-french-diy-mr-bricolage

 

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Quote by Q ". I guess the 'mental adjustment' problem on the French side is not helped because not only is new CEO of Kingfisher French (ex Castorama) but it's a she."

Good to see that sexism and narrow mindedness is alive and well.
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It almost mirrors the tyre factory issue, The US boss comes to france and lays it on the line, I can build my new factory anywhere in the EU but france shrugs it's gallic shoulders once again and sinks further down into the do do. But no matter they will claim another bailout off countries trying hard to make things work.

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Mr Bricolage is neither fish nor fowl; it is no longer a DIY shed, having reduced this type of stock considerably in the recent past, probably because Bricodepot has taken the market. In fact, it caters more for homewares nowadays than anything else.

But, it is not a patch on Leroi Merlin or Castorama which are the closest competition. So, it is gradually being squeezed.

Unfortunately, having a franchise model does not help as this increases prices and acts as a drag on clear central decision making.

Plus, the French are wary of any takeover which might reduce jobs. They would prefer to let the thing run down slowly and then have a huge fight over the corpse.

IMNVHO, the Brits don't need to buy it
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[quote user="NickP"]Quote by Q ". I guess the 'mental adjustment' problem on the French side is not helped because not only is new CEO of Kingfisher French (ex Castorama) but it's a she." Good to see that sexism and narrow mindedness is alive and well.[/quote]

Exactly, it's the French machoman which unfortunatly I have seen a few times in the past. Seems some French men get 'stuck' with sexism and just can't move on like the rest of us.

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[quote user="woolybanana"]

But, it is not a patch on Leroi Merlin or Castorama which are the closest competition. [/quote]

Our store has only just become a Mr Bricolage after being Weldom seemingly for ever, certainly since we arrived in 2005.

It has been a life-saver for us - well almost - supplying vital toilet inside bits when ours died suddenly early one evening. And many other bits and pieces over the years. The staff are extremely pleasant and have been extraordinarily patient and helpful with our attempts at acquiring French DIY vocab too. Casto staff can be rather dismissive at times if you don't know exactly what you want.

Yes I agree Casto and Leroy M are bigger, better and cheaper but they are a good 30 and 40 mins away from us whereas Mr B is but 6 mins down the road which can be an important time difference in a crisis.

OH and I would be gutted if it went.

Sue

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Interesting that the regulators requirement dovetails nicely with what Kingfisher would want to to when they take over the business.

Were it to happen qfter dumping the Franchises and the non profitable stores and then making a good competitive business where people would want to shop then they would quickly expand into areas where they dont have a presence, that is after all their business model and you can see evidence of this by the huge expansion of Screwfix in the UK and Casto in France.

However a franchisee is not going to be happy to be told he must close his business because the company that he pays to use their name is being taken over, you can be sure that they would eventually reclaim honky tonk millions of compensation and that there would be pallets burnt, merguez barbecues, smoke bombs and fireworks outside the stores for years to come, for that matter alone the takeover wont happen and they will die the inevitable death they are well on the way to.

I needed some Sikaflex this week, all my stock had gone off, cost in Bricodepot, €6.90, the same or maybe less than i pay in the UK, but Bricodepot is a 55 mile round trip for me so off I go to the large Mr Bricolage superstore on my doorstep (they moved to a much bigger brand new premises 2 years ago despite having very few customers) the cost there was €13.90 [:-))]

So once again their greed and my refusal to be had over made me do a 55 mile journey to still come out several Euros ahead, also Bricodepot do another make of polyurethane adhesive identical to Sikaflex for only €5 which carries the same SNJF certification.

So in France my choice is, be f****d over by the local stores or drive 55 miles and still save money after the diesel cost (I have even done the trip for a small butane cartridge), in the UK my choice is, drive 1 mile to Screwfix or Toolstation and buy the tube of  PU sealant (or whatever) or do I order 2 or 3 to take the price over £10 to get free delivery to my house to save the inconvenience and diesel cost?

Frances geographical position in the centre of europe gives it a huge advantage if only the cost of doing business and delivery (La Poste and courier companies) was not so stupid and also the cultural opposition to anyone trying to make a sucess of a business in France, without thos obstacles a company like Kingfisher could bring all of us prices, service and delivery like the people of the USA enjoy. If Kingfisher can do so well and its customers get so many benefits within a tiny isolated island just think what they could do if there really were no barriers to trade in Mainland Europe, they would have tremendous economies of scale.

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From the article I gather that the Mr Bricolage franchisées are also actionnaires collectively Under the name SNsomething and unsurprisingly after having agreed the sale they are now doing a U turn when they realise that the regulator will require some downsizing to avoid Kingfisher becoming the dominant force in French DIY already owning Castorama and Bricodepot.

The fact that Kingfisher have appointed a Frenchwoman as global CEO, and I'm sure she is the best man for the job,  shows their commitment to sorting out the shambles of the French market, she will do that with or without Mr Bricolage and I look forward to the future, the franchisées have shot themselves in the foot methinks.

Ironic that this is about preventing abuse of a monopolistic position, here in my isolated town the Mr Bricolage franchisée is no other than the builders merchants, their only competitor, a tradesman cannot afford the time to travel 90km to avoid being shafted, the partuculiers for the most part have never travelled 90km in their life so just accept the prices.

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On the subject of Screwfix. They deliver to France for free if you spend £100 or more.

I know where my loyalties lie and it's not with some of these French rip off merchants.

Here's an example I had from yesterday.

Tube of decorators Caulk. Bricomarche 4.90 euros. The same make in B&Q £1.

Unbelievable!
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Hi

The Mr Bricolage in Quillan/ Limoux are the worst Mr Bricolages I have ever come across I now never bother to go them but leg it to Leyroy Merlin /Brico depot Carcassonne/ Perpignan an hour away to visit their unfilled expensive shelves locally its just not worth the effort
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suein56 said:

Our store has only just become a Mr Bricolage after being Weldom seemingly for ever, certainly since we arrived in 2005..It has been a life-saver for us - well almost - supplying vital toilet inside bits when ours died suddenly early one evening. And many other bits and pieces over the years. The staff are extremely pleasant and have been extraordinarily patient and helpful with our attempts at acquiring French DIY vocab too. Casto staff can be rather dismissive at times if you don't know exactly what you want

Yes I agree Casto and Leroy M are bigger, better and cheaper but they are a good 30 and 40 mins away from us whereas Mr B is but 6 mins down the road which can be an important time difference in a crisis.OH and I would be gutted if it went.

Your local ex-Weldom (Pinault franchise I think) has the same franchisee as the one in Muzillac that has also changed to Mr Bricolage. It sounds like your staff are a darned sight better though, despite Leroy Merlin being only 10 minutes from Muzillac.

The franchisee used to have a Catena franchise in Rostrenen in the eighties when we had a holiday home there.

I bought some 2.90 own brand silicon sealer there last week to use as an adhesive and it's performance was fine.

The Weldom in Questembert, that hasn't so far changed is being considerably enlarged, the staff there are excellent.

Darty has opened in Muzillac too, and no doubt other nationals will follow. Fortunately we live in an area that is developing well.

Steve
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I don't think that in many cases it is the store thats the problem, more the people who work in some. There are two Leroy Merlin in Perpignan and the people working in one are much more helpful than those in the other. One will check stock at the other store and tell them to put it aside for my collection, the other just gives a grunt when asked. One has very helpful kitchen department staff whilst the other, half way through a very big order, decides to 'got to the toilet' and comes back 10 or 15 minutes later smelling of smoke. I suspect there are stores like that in the UK as well, infact I bet there are stores all over the world like that.
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I find all the large DIY stores I have used in France to be extremely patient when I am trying to struggle to tell them what I want in very limited French. Now I wonder what the situation would be in my local B&Q with a French person in the same situation.

As for Castorama being part of Kingfisher note the number of items from Cooke and Lewis for which a UK version is sold in B&Q.

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No matter the name, bricolage shops should always do well in France as artisans are so expensive, simply people cannot always afford to use a tradesman. How this will all work out, I do not know, but I'm sure that they will always be around, even with the internet.

I remember our first flat, seemed like everyone was doing bricolage regularly, as it was a rickety place,  it sounded like everyone's most sophisticated tool was a hammer. 

When we moved to our next flat, we actually heard electric drills being used, so in theory a bit more up market, or would have been if the owners had actually looked after the flat we were in.

In fact bricolage was one of the first words I learnt and way back then, and I could not believe the size of these DIY superstores, amazed me at the time.

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