OBI goes to Bosnia

Apart from entering the market in Russia, OBI also wants to open up another new market this year, this time in Bosnia. Planned for March is the inauguration of a first DIY superstore plus garden centre in Sarajevo. Another outlet is to follow at Mostar in October. Last year the German market leader generated 27 per cent of group sales amounting to € 5.8 bn abroad. It is intended to grow this proportion to 50 per cent in five years. In 2002 the company could point to a sales increase in its international business of 11.1 per cent overall and 0.8 per cent like-for-like. Although the volume of sales grew by 1.8 per cent in Germany, a deficit of 2.4 per cent remained after store-related adjustment.