Hornbach and Obi break the ice in DIY retail by making first 3 openings

German DIY chains Hornbach and Obi will complete investments worth over 30 million euros next month in local expansion by opening three stores in Brasov, Pitesti and Arad, the first openings in DIY retail this year. The three stores will have 400-500 employees in all. Hornbach will open its Brasov store next week, its first opening outside of Bucharest, and third in the network. The store has a 24,000 square-metre sales area and is located on a plot acquired by the company in 2006. The investment in this store is estimated at 20-30 million euros. In turn, Obi, the newest player on the Romanian DIY market, will open two stores in Pitesti and Arad in April, in the wake of an around 5 million-euro investment in fitting each store. The two stores will occupy rented space. Obi, a division of the Tengelmann group, currently operates two stores in Bucharest and Oradea, and wants to open another five stores this year. The retailer entered the Romanian market in late November last year. Company representatives announced at the time that Obi had 50 million euros available to develop a 10-store chain in Romania.