Brico Depot Romania starts integration process after Praktiker takeover

Brico Depot Romania, which is part of British group Kingfisher, an international network of do-it-yourself stores, has started the integration and consolidation of its local operations after the takeover of competitor Praktiker Romania. The process aims to optimize the group’s national store network and to increase its online presence, according to Brico Depot representatives. This will also include the closing of some Praktiker stores in cities where Brico Depot also has own units. By the end of May, the Praktiker stores in Bacau, Ploiesti and Focsani will be closed. The employees impacted by this decision will be offered the possibility to work in other stores within the network. Kingfisher entered the Romanian market in 2013, when it took over the Bricostore network. It rebranded and remodeled the stores under the Brico Depot brand. Brico Depot operates 15 stores with 960 employees and had sales of EUR 144 million in 2016. Praktiker had 26 stores, over 1,600 employees, and sales of EUR 140 million in 2016. editor@romania-insider.com