Its sales went up 26% to about EUR500 million in the first half. The growth was among the highest posted by a company in the retail sector, in a time when consumer spending is rising close to 2007 and 2008 rates.
“We’ve already overshot the EUR1 billion sales mark this year. The growth in the second half was not as high as in the first, it slowed down a bit,” Dragos Paval, who owns the retailer together with his brother Adrian Paval, told ZF at the inauguration of the Telekom Arena skating rink built by businessman Ion Tiriac, where Dedeman is one of the partners.
“The DIY business is influenced by weather. The growth in the first half was partly due to the good weather in the first three months, when sales increased at a higher than average rate.”
Dedeman’s sales rose 28% to EUR980 million in 2015, and about 11-fold in the past decade, making it the leading DIY retail chain in Romania and among the largest in the region.
The retailer is now working on its new store on the DN1 (National Road 1) near to Ikea. The new store will be its most expensive, requiring a more than EUR33 million investment, Dragos Paval said.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)