DIYWEEK.net

The Valspar Corporation's new partnership with B&Q has helped the American paint maker deliver better-than-expected results for its third quarter.

The company's sales rose 10% to $1.2bn and it has boosted its predictions for the rest of the year.

B&Q announced in November 2012 that it was taking on the Valspar brand, to deliver what it called "an entirely new consumer experience not seen before in the UK decorative paints marketplace" and significantly growing Valspar's presence in the UK and Ireland.

Now, Valspar CEO Gary Hendrickson says its collaboration with B&Q has been one factor contributing to the company's strong results.

"The sell-through of Valspar products and consumer acceptance is very good at B & Q," he commented. "Consumer acceptance has been phenomenal. It's exceeded our expectations."

By February this year Valspar had products in 100 B & Q stores but by the end of last month this had grown to 250. The roll-out will continue into a further 100 branches by the end of the year.

Valspar is America's biggest-selling paint brand and is now sold exclusively in the UK by B&Q. Customers can choose from over 2,000 options of the paint, and the mixing desk can colour match around 2.2m shades.