German Obi cuts ribbon in Oradea, Bucharest opening to follow soon

By the end of November, the company plans to open the gates at its Bucharest-based unit. The German operator sees the local market as a great development opportunity because of the large and developing area, according to Romano Quinzi, country manager of Obi Romania.
The recently opened unit in Oradea is made up of 10,000 sqm, where it sells home improvement products, and a specially built area for garden items which, according to the company, is the only such department in Oradea and countrywide.
Overall, the German group runs 523 DIY units in Europe and posted total sales of EUR 5.8 billion in 2007. The operator announced it would concentrate its development strategy on the CEE region. At the beginning of 2008, Obi announced that it aimed to open 20 units in Ukraine and Romania on the medium term and another 15 DIY units in Slovakia in the near future. Following the announced expansion plans, the retailer estimated a growth of 50 percent in turnover on the international markets in the coming years.
Magda Purice