Baumax presents growth plans

Baumax is planning a period of intensive expansion both in Austria and in the growth countries of central and southern Europe. The expectation is for the group to have over 180 DIY stores (2005: 122) in at least eight countries in the year 2010. Entry into the Romanian market is scheduled for 2006, and expansion in Bulgaria is due to start in 2007. Proceeding over and above this is a screening process for other possible expansion targets such as Turkey, Ukraine and Serbia-Montenegro. In the course of this expansion Baumax expects to attain sales of € 2 bn (2005: € 1.1 bn) in 2010, with 67 per cent of the total achieved abroad. For this current year Baumax expects sales to increase by 7 per cent to € 1.15 bn, while the total number of outlets should go up to 126.