No country managers in future

DIY retailer Praktiker, number two in the German marketplace, is streamlining its corporate structure. The group has scrapped the country manager executive level in its international segment. The board, as well as the first and second executive levels, have also been slimmed down by 20 per cent overall. These changes are all part of Praktiker’s reorientation schedule. This includes the scrapping of the company’s 20 per cent discount programme, which has been the source of disquiet in the market for years now. The target in Germany is for Praktiker to achieve an EBITA margin of at least three per cent and Max Bahr at least four per cent by 2013, while a minimum of six per cent is the aim for the group’s international business.