Dedeman to come to Bucharest next year, ups Q3 turnover by 50 percent

It plans to cover all counties in southern Romania. Dedeman – which now has nine stores, most of them in the northwest part of Romania – wants to add four stores in 2008. Next year Dedeman will also open its first store in Bucharest, where it plans to reach a three-store network in the following period. Two other stores will be opened next year in Constanta and Botosani. “On the medium term, Dedeman plans to open a store in each county capital in the south and southeast part of Romania,” said Dragos Paval, general manager of Dedeman and one of the group's owners. Unlike other local competitors that have chosen to expand in neighboring countries, Dedeman is not planning foreign expansion at this moment and is focusing on increasing its business locally. “Nor are we interested in selling the business,” added Paval. The company's nine stores have 85,000 sqm in sales area. Dedeman increased its turnover in the first nine months of the year by 50 percent on the same period of last year, which is above the 30 percent increase estimated at the beginning of the year, Paval told Business Review. If a similar growth rate is achieved this year, the company could reach EUR 168 million in turnover at the end of 2007. “We expect to reach EUR 200 million in turnover in 2008 following the expansion of our store network,” Paval told BR. Last year, the company's turnover increase was 60 percent on the previous year's turnover. The increase in its financial results this year above the expected rate was caused by both an increase in the number of Dedeman stores and by the high demand for construction materials on the Romanian market, Paval said. Dedeman Group operates its DIY stores under the same brand, and incorporates Dedeman Automobile, a Dacia Renault Nissan dealer, and Dedeman Camioane, a dealer for Renault Trucks. The group was set up in 1992. Corina Saceanu