B&Q TradePoint: building a stronger trade proposition

The open­ing of B&Q’s new stand­alone Trade­Point store in Bark­ing marks the first phys­i­cal expres­sion of a new strate­gic direc­tion for the brand.

Designed specif­i­cal­ly around the needs of pro­fes­sion­al trade cus­tomers, the tri­al store brings togeth­er a more focused trade expe­ri­ence with the scale, trust and strength of the wider B&Q brand.

Trade­Point was orig­i­nal­ly cre­at­ed as a stand­alone trade brand, sep­a­rate from B&Q, to serve the dis­tinct needs of trade pro­fes­sion­als. With its own iden­ti­ty, propo­si­tion and cus­tomer expe­ri­ence, that sep­a­ra­tion made strate­gic sense at the time.

But as cus­tomer expec­ta­tions evolved, so did the opportunity.

Our role was to work with the B&Q Trade­Point team to build the rela­tion­ship between the two brands, sharp­en the propo­si­tion for trade audi­ences, and cre­ate a more cohe­sive cus­tomer expe­ri­ence that bet­ter reflects how trade pro­fes­sion­als actu­al­ly shop.

The result was the repo­si­tion­ing of B&Q Trade­Point as B&Q’s ded­i­cat­ed trade offer, designed specif­i­cal­ly for mul­ti-trade pro­fes­sion­als who need speed, reli­a­bil­i­ty, con­ve­nience and trust­ed stock availability.

The expe­ri­ence of the new tri­al store has been built around the prac­ti­cal needs of trade cus­tomers, including:

Ear­ly open­ing hours
Fast click and col­lect
Same-day deliv­ery
Trust­ed trade brands
A stream­lined, pur­pose-built cus­tomer journey

Rather than treat­ing trade as a sep­a­rate busi­ness, the new mod­el con­nects Trade­Point more clear­ly to the strength of the B&Q brand, cre­at­ing a stronger retail and trade propo­si­tion overall.

This was more than a store launch. It was a brand strat­e­gy, propo­si­tion devel­op­ment and cus­tomer expe­ri­ence trans­for­ma­tion project designed to cre­ate a clear­er, more com­pelling offer for trade customers.

Con­grat­u­la­tions to the B&Q team on bring­ing it to life!