Kingfisher sees "massive" opportunity in Russia

LONDON (Reuters) - Kingfisher Plc (KGF.L), Europe's biggest home improvement retailer, is targeting big a push in Russia, a market it believes could be "absolutely massive," its chief executive said on Thursday.

"I think Russia could be the next Poland," Ian Cheshire told the Reuters Global Retail Summit in London.

He estimated the Russian home improvement market was worth 16 billion pounds ($26.3 billion) a year and said it has strong similarities to Poland, where Kingfisher has built a 46-store business, generating annual revenue of over 1 billion pounds.

"There is a pretty atrocious housing stock that needs a lot of work. There is also a customer that's used to doing things with their hands ... and there is very little modern retail, it's mostly done through traditional markets," said Cheshire.

"It's a huge retail market which is not yet tapped and one which we think is great for a home improvement retailer because the home is very high up the list of things people want to do."

Kingfisher currently has seven stores in Russia, including in Moscow and St Petersburg. Trading as Castorama they recorded a like-for-like sales gain of 14.3 percent in the first quarter.

Cheshire said the plan was to open three or four stores this year, with openings of "at least" that amount in following years.

He was also optimistic on the health of the Russian economy.

"As the oil price recovers back over $70 (a barrel), I can't help thinking Russia will be OK," he said.

Shares in Kingfisher closed ON Thursday down 3.4 pence at 193.8 pence, valuing the business at 4.74 billion pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey and Mark Potter; Editing by Rupert Winchester)