Hornbach invests in Romania

Romania's first Hornbach store has been ready to welcome customers in Bucharest since 20 June 2007: at Turnu Magurele 92-108, Sector 4. The superstore is more than 24 000 m² in overall size (including a weighted total sales area of more than 15 600 m²), with the DIY store extending over 9 000 m² and the garden store occupying 5 000 m². There is a drive-in building materials centre of just under 10 000 m² as well. This offers customers the convenience of being able to load heavy building materials like timber panels, sacks of cement or insulation rolls straight into their cars or transporters, then paying for all their purchases at one checkout.There are more than 600 parking spaces available to customers, 25 of them in the drive-in. Hornbach has invested approx. € 25 mio in the group's first store in Romania and created 112 jobs as well. The DIY and garden store, together with the drive-in builder centre, are open seven days a week.The range of products is largely identical with that in Germany. Only in the area of decoration have there been some modifications, e.g. in the case of lamps and of curtains as well, which are available by the metre.A second Hornbach store for Bucharest is scheduled to follow in about a year's time, and there are plans for four DIY and garden stores altogether in the Romanian capital. But that is not all: Albrecht Hornbach, chairman of Hornbach Holding, stated at a press conference in Bucharest on the day before the store opening, just ahead of the market launch in Romania, "We intend to establish ten large-format Hornbach DIY and garden superstores in the major cities of Romania by the year 2015. We are planning to invest over € 200 mio in the project, and create more than 1 000 well-paid jobs offering good future prospects."The entire concept embodied in Hornbach's DIY and garden stores is geared to customers who want to tackle major projects in their house, flat or garden, either by themselves or with the help of professionals. Consequently the stores feature a particularly large floorspace: the average size within the group is around 11 000 m², while newly opened stores cover up to 25 000 m². It is possible to stock a range of around 60 000 articles for DIYers, tradesmen and gardeners on such a space. Products needed for bulk purchases by customers undertaking a major project or by contractors are also available. What is more, customers can access a further 60 000 articles via the ordering service. With the aim of achieving…