Hagebau looking to grow abroad

The German specialist retail and DIY cooperative Hagebau aims to expand further abroad and is eyeing opportunities in Spain above all. The market there is extremely fragmented with a concentration rate of just 25 per cent, according to Torsten Kreft, managing director of Hagebau retail category management, speaking at a press conference. Two Spanish retail businesses joined the Soltau cooperative as new partners on 1 January 2015. The Hagebau management is expecting a sideways movement in Germany on the whole this year and views the Ukraine crisis, the oil price and the trend in the euro as the main risks for 2015.