Hurrying through the two-floor B&Q in Sutton, it’s hard not to notice that something is afoot. Signs are everywhere, apologising for the fact that building works are under way as part of creating a newer – and presumably better – B&Q that will have more of what shoppers want.

For followers of developments in the DIY sector, this might be quite exciting were it not for the fact that much of what is being done is likely to very similar to the pilot sheds that received makeovers in Bristol, Luton and the Midlands last year.

It is considerably longer than 12 months since shoppers at Cribbs Causeway were treated to a softer version of the B&Q proposition. Here was a store with roomsets, complete with seasonal wallpaper and paint sampler fixtures that looked as if they had been designed to be rather more than merely functional.

All seemed fair and in view of the crisis that has been assailing DIY operators, it was generally felt that this might be a panacea for its ills. And so it might, if a roll-out had been undertaken a little more quickly. Yet here we are, close to 18 months later and the bulk of the B&Q portfolio still has that building-project coupled with odd-job-man feel about its interiors.

When times are tough, the tough go shopping – but only in those stores that can offer a little more. And, for a few moments, B&Q appeared to be on the verge of shifting from its somewhat man-and-van image to an altogether more designed alternative.

However, the question for any retailer with a new format that could restore flagging fortunes is how quickly an initial pilot can be rolled out and whether it can be achieved at a realistic price.

By now, it seems safe to assume that all the usual value engineering of the B&Q trial stores has taken place and that it is a matter of bringing project management in-house and a wedge of capex into play.

So why are things moving so slowly? Sutton is not a small B&Q store and has a high-density, affluent home-owning hinterland on which to draw. Yet it will be more or less the end of this year before its revamp is complete.

Does it seem churlish to remark that one of the reasons why Kingfisher chief executive Gerry Murphy is on his well-paid way is that not enough has been done quickly enough? B&Q has a perfectly good and appealing novel format, but there has been a marked reluctance to commit.

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