In deficit

The Tengelmann group of companies (TUG) has announced the sales figures (gross) for its DIY retail division. Obi, a subsidiary of Tengelmann, achieved sales of € 5.765 bn in its total of 515 stores (in eleven countries) during the 2007/2008 financial year (to 30 April). This means that sales altogether dropped by 0.2 per cent on the previous year. The decline was particularly steep in Germany, down 9 per cent to € 3.303 bn. By contrast, Obi was able to grow sales by 14.6 per cent to € 2.462 bn abroad. A high level of investment is intended to allow Obi to continue to grow in the next few years. This expansion will be focused on the countries of eastern Europe, with market entry into Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine just around the corner. The group's current financial year ends on 31 December 2008 and, as a rump year, will comprise just eight months. In future the TUG's business year will be identical with the calendar year.Detailed figures for the individual countries where Obi operates can be found in DIYglobal plus under the Trade Topics heading (v. Other articles on this topic).