“Lower consumption and a drop in construction activity has dwindled sales of home improvement retailers. For this reason, retailer Obi is preparing to leave the Romanian market this year,” the sources said.
Contacted by MEDIAFAX, Obi officials said the company has not decided to leave Romania “for the time being”.
Obi’s withdrawal would be a new major move on the local DIY market after Kingfisher bought the 15 Bricostore units from France’s Bresson in April 2013 and German group Praktiker announced this year it is selling its 27 Romanian stores to Search Chemicals, owned by Turkish businessman Omer Susli.
Obi opened its first store in Romania in 2008, in Oradea, and opened six more units over the following two years.
Obi Romania’s turnover increased constantly in 2008 – 2012, according to Finance Ministry data, from RON18.5 million to RON182.2 million. However, during this period, the company amassed losses of over RON270 million, with the biggest loss, of RON77.1 million, posted in 2010.
The German group decided in September 2013 to lower Obi Romania’s share capital by RON126 million, to RON81.3 million, by incorporating losses .
At the end of 2012, the company had an average number of 636 employees and losses exceeding RON56 million.
Other players on the Romanian DIY retail market are Ambient, bauMax, Dedeman, Hornbach, Mr. Bricolage, and Leroy Merlin.
Obi has over 530 stores worldwide, of which 330 in Germany and over 200 in 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The company is present in Italy, Hungary, Russia, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bosnia, Croatia,a nd Ukraine. Obi stores, which employ over 38,000 people, generate annual sales of over EUR5 billion.