Austrian state declined the proposal to buy the art collection of BauMax owner, Karlheinz Essl, evaluated at EUR 250 million, by which he planned to inject capital into his business and save thousands of jobs.
BauMax, which employs about 10,000 people in nine countries, reported a EUR126 million loss in 2012 after overextending itself with a push into Eastern Europe, and into Turkey in 2010, according to Reuters.
In 2012, the company reported the biggest loss, of EUR26 million, in Romania, followed by Turkey, with EUR14 million, according to Austrian newspaper Die Presse. Except for Slovakia, BauMax reported losses on all its East-European markets. The 2013 results were not published yet.
BauMax’s creditor banks, including Raiffeisen, Erste Group and Bank Austria, will decide on April 28 on approving a restructuring plan for BauMax.
BauMax has 158 stores, almost half of them in Austria and the rest in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, and Turkey.
The Romanian DIY market is also facing difficult times. Thus, in April 2013, UK-based home improvement retailer Kingfisher bought 15 Bricostore stores in Romania from France’s Group Bresson, which will be rebranded as Brico Depot.
Last year, Kingfisher suggested it might take over several BauMax stores in Romania and Turkey.
According to the latest data, German DIY retailer Obi is preparing a withdrawal from the Romanian market.
In February, German DIY retail chain Praktiker sold its operations in Romania, which include 27 stores, to Search Chemicals company, owned by Turkish businessman Omer Susli.