Overview 2021: DIY retail in Romania

Dedeman, national leader in the retail of construction materials and interior design, with 100 per cent Romanian capital, continued its expansion in 2021, opening three stores in Sfântu Gheorghe, Blejoi and Câmpulung Moldovenesc; its national store network reached 57 units at the end of the year. Dedeman’s total investment in opening these three stores in 2021 was EUR 35.5 mio. Currently, Dedeman has more than 12 000 employees in its 57 stores, operates five logistics centres and its own logistics fleet, and sells a range of over 50 000 articles for home and garden. The stores have sales areas between 7 500 m² and 18 000 m².

Leroy Merlin, the French DIY retailer specialising in construction, decoration and gardening, opened a single store in 2021 in the city of Targoviste, and its network in Romania has reached 19 stores. In July 2021, Leroy Merlin listed all 30 000 articles in its online store and announced national delivery coverage. The pricing policy of products sold online is identical to that applied in the physical stores. Leroy Merlin, which belongs to French Adeo group, has seen a fourfold increase in online sales in the period since the digital listing of the entire product assortment, with delivery anywhere in the country, until the end of October 2021.

MatHaus by Arabesque, the retail brand of the largest builders’ merchant in Romania, another 100 per cent Romanian company present in the local DIY market, has kept in 2021 its network of seven MatHaus stores, but also the national network of 28 Arabesque warehouses for building materials and finishes.

Brico Dépôt Romania, part of the British Kingfisher group, remained in 2021 with 35 stores in Romania and over 2 600 employees, but sales of the DIY retailer increased in the third quarter of 2021 by 14.6 per cent to GBP 78 mio (EUR 94 mio), while like-for-like sales increased by 17.2 per cent. Brico Dépôt also continued to diversify its product lines, so in the first ten months of the year the retailer added over 6 000 new items to its assortment. In 2021, Brico Dépôt accelerated the company’s digitalisation, one of the goals of 2021 being the development of the retailer’s new online store, by changing the platform, in order to streamline business processes and provide customers with a simpler shopping experience. Also in 2021, the retailer launched the click & delivery service, through which online orders can be delivered at home, in the interval chosen by the customer.

Hornbach, one of the…