Kingfisher, the international home improvement company and owner of well-known brands such as B&Q, Screwfix, Castorama, and Brico Dépôt, is honoured to announce the launch of its new technological hub in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in partnership with Endava, a leading technology services company headquartered in London, which combines world-class engineering, industry expertise and a people-centric mindset. The hub will provide 100 job openings in the next year for various positions.
The Cluj-Napoca hub highlights Kingfisher’s commitment to developing in-house engineering talent across the UK, France, Poland, and now Romania. With this strategic decision, the company aims to increase its innovation and agility and provide the greatest experiences possible for its global customers.
Throughout 2024, Kingfisher intends to hire 100 engineers to cover a large variety of positions within the Cluj hub, such as Cloud Platform, Software Engineering, Quality Engineering, and Data Engineering. The company’s goal is to hire quarterly approximately 25 employees, focusing on integrating these teams into the larger Kingfisher engineering community.
Thierry Garnier, Chief Executive Officer Kingfisher:
„Technology has long been important in retail, but today it’s right at the top of the leadership agenda. I don’t think I ever go a day at Kingfisher without discussing technology in some form. It doesn’t just underpin growth in ecommerce, but every aspect of retail, from logistics and pricing to AI solutions and retail media. That’s why we want Kingfisher to be a magnet for top talent in technology and data science.”
Adela Smeu, Chief Executive Officer Brico Depot Romania:
„The choice of Romania was not accidental. The group we belong, recognizes the high experience and quality of services in the field of technology on Romanian market. We are proud of this choice and we are happy to be part of a group that constantly and decisively invests in technology and innovation.”
Paul Maguire, Head of Retail Delivery at Endava:
„Today, every business is a technology business, and nowhere more so than in retail. We are honoured to lend our expertise in technology, and our long history of working with tech talent in Romania, to drive an even better experience for Kingfisher’s customers, whilst continuing to improve value.”
Due to of its developing IT field in Cluj-Napoca, Romania is frequently referred to as the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe, making the country an ideal environment for technological innovation. Kingfisher chose Cluj-Napoca as its next technological hub due to its strategic location, the large talent pool available, and the presence of multinational technology and service organisations.
Kingfisher and Endava will work together closely and co-brand to ensure the smooth growth and integration of the Cluj hub. This partnership highlights the shared goal for technological innovation and excellence.
This initiative is part of Kingfisher’s ongoing strategy to expand its in-house data science and software engineering capabilities, following the successful opening of a similar hub in Krakow, Poland. This technology site was launched in December 2022 and has approximately 80 employees.
