In the middle of June the first Hubo DIY store in Macedonia opened its doors to customers on the outskirts of Skopje with a retail area of 3 500 m², to which must be added an outdoor yard of around 500 m². Hubo has also opened a Belgian restaurant called Day & Night in the immediate vicinity, in a move that is expected to inject life into the location.
The Belgian company is utilising this DIY outlet as a means of testing out the possibilities offered by the Macedonian market. It is intended to repeat the concept in other places if it yields the right return.
Hubo has opened a “Night & Day” restaurant right next to the DIY store.
The product offer is on a par with the Belgian standard. However, 40 per cent of the products are sourced from local suppliers, a figure that includes brands such as Knauf, which manufacture on the spot. In certain product categories, including decorating and housewares, the range of goods is broader than in Belgium, but a more limited stock of timber is held on the other hand. The range of water-based paints is also less extensive. “Products of this kind are still largely unknown in this country, even among professionals,” is how Raf de Canck, manager international operations, explains the situation.
The product range is largely on a par with the standard Belgian offer.
Consumers make up 70 per cent of the store’s customers, and 30 per cent are tradesmen who come here to satisfy their requirements.
Hubo Belgium supplies goods not only to this first Hubo DIY store, which has been set up as a joint venture, but to other partners as well who trade under their own names. Here Hubo not only takes on the role of the supplier but acts in an advisory capacity as well.
Hubo operates 61 outlets in Belgium with a combined retail area of 135 000 m². The 59 DIY stores boast a profile of between 900 m² and 7 500 m² in area and the two Hubo Shops are 320 m² and 650 m² in size. Last year the company acquired five Selfmade stores as well as five from Bricomarché, and recorded sales of € 109.2 mio. The Belgian network of outlets is to be expanded by two more stores before the end of this year.
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