DIY retail expansion expected to peak in 2008

DIY networks will create around 2,000 jobs when between 17 and 18 new stores open this year, with total investments worth almost 200 million euros. The initiative is expected to register the highest annual expansion rate recorded by DIY retail since the entry of the first foreign networks in 2002. The 50% increase in the number of DIY stores affiliated to international networks anticipated this year (against 2007) will significantly increase the share held by this segment on the construction materials distribution market, which was estimated at 30% in 2007. However, retailers’ plans could be hindered by the high cost of land and the current labour shortage in the sales sector, as well as recruitment competition from food retailers that also target this sector. Some projects scheduled for last year were delayed until 2008, which operators explained is due to their dependency on the real estate market. “The growth seen in constructions is the major driver of the DIY sector. Therefore, we expect the dynamics of investments in constructions to generate a similar increase on the DIY market, as happened in 2007,” said Guenter Vosskaemper, general manager of Praktiker Romania.