Fengjiang Li leaves Obi

Dr Fengjiang Li, until recently the member of the board of the German market leader Obi with responsibility for China, has requested the board to release him from his duties with immediate effect. He has departed from the company as of 5 March 2004. Markus Maus has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for operations in China. Obi intends to have 19 DIY stores in operation in China by the end of this year, and is sticking to the goal of increasing its total number of outlets to 100 by 2010.