Bucharest, Romania, 2014-3-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Brico Dépôt has opened its first two rebranded stores in Romania, in the Pantelimon and Orhideea areas of the capital city Bucharest.
Kingfisher plc acquired ‘Bricostore’s’ 15 home improvement stores in Romania in April 2013. Since June last year work has been underway to integrate colleagues and transform the stores into Kingfisher’s successful Brico Dépôt format aimed at professional builders and serious DIYers.
Speaking from the opening ceremony at the Pantelimon store, Sir Ian Cheshire, Group Chief Executive of Kingfisher plc, said: “Opening our first two stores in Romania under the Brico Dépôt brand is a significant milestone for Kingfisher as we establish the first low-cost model in this market. This is more than a straight forward rebranding exercise and requires adapting our model to the local market. We think we have a key role to play in changing the face of home improvement retailing in Romania.
“I’ve said before that the home improvement market in Romania has solid growth potential and we aim to develop a successful business here in the longer term. I would like to take the opportunity to formally welcome all of the Bricostore employees to Brico Dépôt, and thank them for their continued commitment as we work to integrate the remaining 13 stores into the Brico Dépôt model.”
The deal added 2% selling space to the Kingfisher estate in April 2013. Using the Brico Dépôt format, there is scope to grow the business to around 50 stores in the longer-term. Romania is an attractive, growing market for home improvement.
Notes to editors
Brico Dépôt was established in 1993 in Reims (France). It currently has 109 stores in France and 24 in Spain. Brico Dépôt is primarily aimed at serious DIY-ers and professional builders. It is a low-price format which offers customers the essentials for their DIY and renovation projects, with products available in large, building site quantities. For more information: http://www.brico-depot.ro
Brico Dépôt Romania’s offer
- 12,000 ‘essential’ products for construction and home improvement
- Low prices, without sacrificing quality
- High product availability and immediate self-service
- “Arrivages” (one-off special buys)
- Ranges incorporating the national brands previously present in Bricostore as well as Brico Dépôt own brands and best-sellers
- Open Monday – Saturday from 07h00 to 21h00 and on Sundays from 09h00 to 19h00
- Easy to shop format based around three core areas of building and renovation materials; home improvement; and general maintenance products
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