// B&Q launches new online marketplace
// The Kingfisher-owned brand is seeking to create a “a one-stop shop for your home”
B&Q has launched an online marketplace as it looks to expand its ecommerce division to include over one million home, DIY and garden products.
The DIY retailer, which is owned by Kingfisher, is seeking to create a “a one-stop shop for your home”, strengthening its foothold in key categories such as lighting, power tools and wallpaper.
It also wants its offering to stretch into new areas including small domestic appliances and children’s outdoor play, Retail Week reported.
READ MORE: B&Q partners with Asda for latest ‘shop within shop’ concession
B&Q has already signed up 17 third-party sellers, including Black & Decker, Breville and Osram, to sell through the marketplace.
The retailer aims to offer shoppers 100,000 new products within the next six months, in addition to the 40,000 already stocked on B&Q’s existing website.
B&Q chief executive Graham Bell said the business has ambitions to make “millions of products available” through the platform – “possibly within a year”.
He added that nearly 85% of shopping journeys start online and B&Q knows that 45-50% of all sales start on marketplaces in Europe and the UK.
B&Q has partnered with marketplace platform Mirakl to launch its new online proposition, which will be available via its existing website, diy.com, and its smartphone app.
Third-party brands selling through the B&Q marketplace will be responsible for fulfilling their own orders.
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