B&Q has revealed that it will be closing nine stores in Wales as part of its plan to shut 60 stores across the UK over the next two years.
The announcement follows news earlier this week that the DIY giant will be closing five of its outlets in Northern Ireland, resulting in the loss of around 300 jobs.

The B&Q branches earmarked for closure in Wales are:
Queensferry Road, Deeside
Aberystwyth
Hadfield Road Cardiff
Cardigan
Cwmdu
Ebbw Vale
Gorseinon
Neath
Pembroke Dock

The branches set to close in Northern Ireland are:
Buncrana Road, Derry
Boucher Road, Belfast
Sprucefield
Ballymena
Craigavon

The Kingfisher-owned chain has long said its store portfolio was oversized and that there would be plans to scale it back. At the recent Global DIY Summit in London in June, Kingfisher chief executive officer Veronique Laury explained: "We are closing stores. We have too many stores in the UK." However, she added of the DIY retail market: "Even if online is growing, which we all believe it is, people will continue to shop in stores... I am still a big believer that big boxes will have a big role going forward. "

The outlets in Wales and Northern Ireland join the ranks of the stores in England already earmarked for closure, including Southampton, Dundee, Mansfield, Birmingham's Stetchford Road, Hyde, and Barnsley.

A further 40 branches are expected to be named in coming months, as part of the store-closure programme set to reduce B&Q's selling space across the UK by 15%.

A statement from Kingfisher regarding the Wales closures said: "Over the coming years B&Q will be transforming its offer to customers in Wales as part of an ongoing initiative to enhance home improvement retailing.

"To respond to the changing needs of customers and how they live and shop, B&Q is changing the shape of its store network across the UK."

The move means that B&Q will operate 15 stores in Wales by January 2017.

The company added: "The decision to reshape the store network has not been taken lightly and B&Q will endeavour to find positions for as many employees who are affected by the change as possible, either at nearby B&Q stores or elsewhere in the Kingfisher Group, such as at Screwfix."