“Consumer reluctance lingered in most countries of Eastern and Southeast Europe on account of the persistently tough economic conditions. This mainly affected countries such as Greece, Romania and Poland, which traditionally contribute substantial shares to consolidate sales,” Praktiker said in its financial report.
Praktiker sales in Romania fell 9.4% to EUR38.9 million in the second quarter of 2012.
“In international business, the general economic conditions remained difficult, particularly for Praktiker’s key countries of Greece, Poland and Romania,” Praktiker said with respect to its second-quarter results.
The number of Praktiker stores in Romania stagnated to 27.
Worldwide, Praktiker’s net sales decreased by 4.5% to EUR1.55 billion on the year in the first half of 2012 and by 7.3% to EUR887 million on the year in the second quarter, due to unfavorable weather conditions and lingering macroeconomic problems on international key markets for Praktiker.