Growth for Baumax abroad

Baumax, an Austrian DIY retailer, increased sales in 2011 by three per cent to € 1.6 bn. The market leader achieved sales of € 640 mio in the home market, which is exactly the same as the year before. The company’s international stores notched up sales of € 860 mio, which amounts to growth of five per cent.At present the company operates 155 stores, 67 of them in Austria, 24 in the Czech Republic, 15 in Slovakia, 15 in Hungary, three in Slovenia, seven in Croatia, 14 in Romania, five in Bulgaria and five in Turkey. Last year saw the opening of six new locations: three in Turkey and one each in Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Six more new openings are also on the agenda for 2012: two in Turkey, two in Bulgaria and one each for Romania and Slovenia. Austria is expected to see the reopening of two stores that are being extended.The increased sales figures for 2011 are pointing Baumax back towards a strategic reorientation involving more service and higher-quality product ranges again. Over the next few years the company wants to progress from DIY retailer to professional trade store.This year the company is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Baumax. The first store to operate under the name of Baumax was a cash and carry outlet of 800 m² that opened in Bruck/Mur on 15 November 1977.