Katoen Natie, Kingfisher France’s Long-Standing Partner in France
The Kingfisher Group, a European DIY and Home Improvement retailer, trades through its brands Brico Dépôt, Castorama, B&Q, Screwfix, Tradepoint and Koctas. Together they number more than 2.000 stores and e-commerce sites, with over 80.000 employees in eight European countries: England and Ireland, Poland, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and France.
In France, Kingfisher France currently has 220 Castorama and Brico Dépôt stores. To support the growth of its French business, Kingfisher France has put its trust in their expert logistics partner, Katoen Natie. Since 2005, Katoen Natie has provided all warehousing services for these 220 stores via two warehouses in Le Havre and Saint-Martin-de-Crau. “Our common history started with services provided at Le Havre, through which we quickly became aware of Katoen Natie’s responsiveness, flexibility and agility. Subsequently, Katoen Natie won a second tender to manage our logistics in the South of France. Beyond operational performance, we share values and a strong strategic vision for the further development of our logistic network. Our relationship is based more on real partnership than simple provision of services,” says Etienne de La Codre, Director of Logistics and Transport at Kingfisher France.
Sharing a “cultural fit” and a pragmatic vision of logistics.
Today Katoen Natie manages all warehousing services for Brico Dépôt, from a simple screw to a 6m long awning. These activities include the collection of containers from the port, unloading, palletizing, storage, order preparation, packing and despatch. Since 2019, Katoen Natie was additionally granted the management of Kingfisher France’s complex flow of garden products from the Castorama brand. Furthermore, strengthened by its ownership model of warehousing facilities, Katoen Natie is able to adapt its proposal to the client’s needs in terms of surface area, process or even specific equipment, with the aim of offering a partnership arrangement beneficial to both parties. “There is undeniably, a good fit between our strategic and cultural position policies. Katoen Natie supports us perfectly in our philosophy of development, costs and continuous improvement. We like and share the value they place on simplicity and efficiency, as well as their customer service ethos. We are therefore perfectly aligned,” emphasises Etienne de La Codre.
Since 2005, both organisations have pursued an alignment with the joint ambition to develop and co-create successful innovations, particularly improving on the work environment and wellbeing of staff on site. A notable example is the implementation of a specific picking tool using suction pads, dedicated to glazed doors and windows in 2020. This enabled operators to achieve improved ergonomics, limiting the challenging nature of the process and providing increased safety in the warehouse. “Katoen Natie has this ability to provide us with technological innovation, enabling us to make progress in the way products are palletised and despatched. Together we have decreased product breakage and reduced risk as well as our costs and decreased the arduousness of the processes. We are engaged in genuine dialogue aimed at continuous improvement,” concludes Kingfisher France’s director of Logistics and Transport.
The two companies are currently considering innovative new projects with the long-term aim of co-construction.
 |
Etienne de La Codre serves as the Logistics & Transport Director of Kingfisher France. He is a supply chain expert with extensive experience from both supplier and retailer perspectives in a global context. His expertise lies in supply chain management, emphasizing a customer service-oriented approach. |
 |
The Kingfisher Group is a European group specialising in DIY and home improvement. Present in France through its Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands, Kingfisher France has 220 retail outlets and nearly 20,000 employees. |