Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
A store tour with five stops in the greater Lisbon area kicked off the 11th Global DIY Summit in the Portuguese capital today. The participants were clearly impressed by the latest addition to the tour programme: Obramat Afragide opened on 19 March 2025. It is the first location in Portugal for this professional sales chain belonging to the French Adeo Group, which has invested EUR 18 mio in the site. In neighbouring Spain, there are already 37 locations of this distribution chain, which generates around 70 per cent of its sales with professionals – craftsmen and small construction companies – and 30 per cent with end consumers. Professional quality, high stock levels and price leadership are the most important strategic principles.
Also part of the Adeo Group and also with a strong focus on building materials is the Leroy Merlin store we visited in Sintra. What makes this location special is that the building materials drive-in (Leroy Merlin Construção) is located a short distance away. The entire site generated a turnover of EUR 92 mio in 2024, EUR 21 mio of which came from the building materials trade. Another special feature is that the Construção building materials hall has a ‘store within a store’ with 4,000 items that are also available in the neighbouring DIY store, such as tools, workwear and construction chemicals. Why? ‘Because we listen to what our customers tell us,’ says the store manager. With 67 stores and a market share of 45 per cent, Leroy Merlin is the market leader in Portugal.
The Brico Dépôt retail chain, part of the British Kingfisher Group, also focuses strongly on professionals. It has 31 locations across the Iberian Peninsula, three of which are in Portugal. Brico Dépôt has been operating here since 2014, and the market in Sintra was opened in 2016 and covers 7,300 m². In addition to numerous branded products, this sales division also has a range of own brands that are used throughout the Kingfisher Group, such as Erbauer and Good Home.
Maxmat is a purely Portuguese company. Founded in 1994, it operates 33 stores on the Iberian Peninsula, 31 of which are in Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores). The company reports annual sales of EUR 141.4 mio. The format is a discount concept for building materials, bathrooms, kitchens, gardens, tools and hardware. The store in Alverca, which opened in 2006, has a sales area of just 2,785 m² and 20 employees. Maxmat belongs to the BME (Building Materials Europe) building materials group, which includes Hagebau partner Bauking in Germany and the Quester Group in Austria.
The Horto do Campo Grande garden centre in Lisbon's university district provides a certain counterpoint to these four building materials-focused Storetour locations. The product range focuses on outdoor plants, but the company generates around a quarter of its sales with services for commercial customers. It also offers an exclusive range of garden furniture and its own brand of planters.
