Greece poised to be Mr. DIY's 2nd EU market

Mr. DIY, the Malaysian home improvement retailer that also operates in nine other countries, is set to enter Greece, recent developments suggest. An official of the company – which stepped out of its comfort zone in Asia to open in Turkey late last year and Spain early this year – met with “business associates in Greece” as well as the Mr. DIY teams from the two other countries.

Leo Gan, Mr. DIY vice president for business development, said in a 30 September 2022 LinkedIn post that the meeting “will be the humble beginning we will laugh over”. “All the hard work will be the foundation of our future successes,” he said.

This gives credence to a June 2022 report on Mr. DIY's Greek foray by the Greek online news service The Power Game, which stated that Asia's biggest home improvement brand had opened a subsidiary in the country – Mr. DIY Greece Monoprosopi SA – headquartered at 5 Tsakalov Street, in the upmarket neighbourhood of Kolonaki, Athens.

It is not clear when Mr. DIY will begin operations in Greece. But should plans push through, the country will be the retailer's 11th market and its second in the European Union.

Although it has been dismissed by EU competitors as a “bazaar”, Mr. DIY's growth in both Turkey and Spain has been rapid. Less than a year since it entered the markets, Mr. DIY now operates 24 stores in Turkey and twelve outlets in Spain.

The Malaysian company owns all its eponymous stores. In Asia, it also operates toy stores and a discount outlet under the brands Mr. Toy and Mr. Dollar.