The sizzling start to summer has seen B&Q advise customers that it
has sold almost its entire summer’s stock of barbecues before the
start of the school holidays.
The store has sold more than nine out of ten of all its barbecues, with
all available stock now in stores. Charcoal has also sold extremely well
with 92 per cent of all stock sold. When the last of the barbecues have
sold there will be no more available this summer.
Sunny summer weekends have driven this unprecedented sales drive with more
barbecues sold on a sunny Saturday than in the whole of the previous week;
over 13,000 charcoal and over 3,000 gas barbecues.
Kelly Merry, B&Q barbecue buyer said: “We’ve sold 77 per
cent more charcoal barbecues and 26 per cent more gas barbecues compared
to this time last summer. The sunshine coupled with our price deals and
new designs has seen customers snap up the range.
We’ve noticed that customers are now also buying two barbecues a large
one for the garden and a portable one to keep in the car for camping, picnics
or days out to the beach. It’s official that Brits are no longer afraid
of the barbecue.”
Britain is Europe’s biggest barbecue nation with an estimated 110m
barbies being fired up every year and an estimated £3bn spent on summer
barbecue food and drink.
B&Q also says sales of deckchairs are up almost 50 per cent this year
compared to last with thousands being snapped up this summer from the home
improvement and garden centre retailer.
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