Castorama sold drills, screws and paint to its customers.
The brand will now help them do their homework.
The British Kingfisher, owner of Castorama and Brico Dépôt, has just bought 80% of the French start-up NeedHelp, which connects customers and DIY experts.
To acquire it, Kingfisher paid 10 million euros.
The group is thus continuing its digital transformation, accelerated by the Covid (17% of its online sales, against 8% last year).
“We must be resolutely digitally oriented and develop the services we offer our customers.
Online service platforms have a key role to play, ”
said Thierry Garnier, its CEO.
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Kingfisher takes advantage of the French appetite for DIY
NeedHelp takes a commission on each completed project.
The start-up will have nearly 60,000 in 2020, boosted by the Covid, which encourages the French to take care of their home.
Its services are accessible online, but also in stores.
NeedHelp already had a partnership with Castorama before being acquired.
It is also allied with other brands (Ikea, Conforama, But), and these links should continue.
Half of the transactions concluded between a customer and one of the 500,000 “jobbers” registered on NeedHelp come from the stores.
The latter do not take any commission.
Because, for them, NeedHelp is above all a selling point: if customers do not know how to install a kitchen, that they do not hesitate to buy one anyway, someone will help them to assemble it.