A NATIONAL DIY chain has celebrated the opening its first concept home improvement store in Cribbs Causeway over the weekend.

The new B&Q store is the first of four stores worldwide to trial a combination of the best elements of DIY from across the business’ parent company the Kingfisher Group.

Three more stores in France, Poland and Russia which are involved in the project will open later in the year.

Offering over 40,000 products, including 2,500 new and exclusive items, every department in the store has been redeveloped to make “doing-it-yourself” easier.

Rather than change location, the new B&Q concept store re-opened on the site they already have, and during the six months of updates, business was unaffected as it remained open throughout.

The store celebrated a four day weekend of festivities including cookery demonstrations, creativity workshops, food, music and lots of prizes, as well as a visit from special guest ex-England and Bristol Rovers player Gary Mabbutt.

Michael Loeve, CEO at B&Q, said: “This newly upgraded store will play a significant role in how we, and the rest of the Kingfisher, shape our stores of the future.

“The project has been a huge undertaking for B&Q and we’re delighted to see it come to fruition. We look forward to continuing to welcoming home improvers from Bristol and further afield to our Cribbs Causeway store following the opening this weekend.” 

Matt Cook, B&Q Cribbs Causeway store manager, said: “B&Q has never attempted a project on this scale before and the impact is evident: we have created an environment where customers can come to feel inspired.

“It’s taken us six months to complete this project, and we’ve kept the store open throughout this time. We’ve already had amazing feedback from customers who have seen the work done to date, and I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved at Cribbs Causeway.” 

During his visit to the store, where he played several games of table football with shoppers, Mr Mabbutt said: "It's been wonderful returning to Bristol and meeting everyone instore to celebrate the relaunch of B&Q Cribbs Causeway.

“I've built up my DIY skills over the years and I know it's all about having the right tools for the job. There's definitely a huge choice here, whatever your skills level; and you can even try before you buy."