DIY chains in Bulgaria: another boom in sales
Source：kinsights.capital.bg
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Sofia
Update Time：2024/05/03
During the pandemic, home became the people's center of life, then came a construction boom and inflation. All of this translated into active shopping in Do It Yourself (DIY) stores. The total sales of Bulgaria's top 5 retailers - Praktiker, Mr. Bricolage, Angro Trade, Home Max and Gospodinovi Stroymarket - approached 880 million levs (450 million euro) in 2022, increasing by an average of 25% year-on-year, and profits jumped by almost 50%. Projections for 2023 are positive, with major chains expecting new double-digit growth rates.
Big stores preferred
Over 62% of Bulgarians prefer shopping for non-food items in large stores and chains, about 16% in small corner-shops, around 12% are in favor of online shopping while only 8% choose malls, according to a survey conducted by local polling agency Market Links in June 2023. Chains are favored by most consumers for purchasing large furniture (58%) and building materials (54%), as well as small home furnishings (49%) and household and garden goods (48%). The main reasons for choosing a place to shop include the variety of products and brands (over 50% of all buyers), prices, the overall experience, the service and the possibility to consult the seller.
Leader Praktiker
Praktiker Retail tops the list of DIY stores again with 348 million levs in sales in 2022, which represents growth of over 25%, year on year. The German chain settled in Bulgaria in 2004 and opened 9 stores in the next ten years. In 2014, Bulgarian-owned Videolux Holding, which is known for its Technopolis chain for household appliances, acquired the entire business of the German company in Bulgaria and now runs 16 Praktiker hypermarkets in the country. The latest two were opened in 2023 in the cities of Pernik and Haskovo, and two more are currently under construction in Sofia. Praktiker also has an online store.
"In 2023, we expect a 20% increase in revenue and a 10% increase in the number of visitors. The share of online sales is still not large, but it is growing," Praktiker senior manager Adrian Penkov told the Capital Weekly.
Source: https://kinsights.capital.bg/business/2024/03/05/4596394_diy_chains_another_boom_in_sales/