Praktiker

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Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG

Type	Public
Founded	1978 (Luxembourg)
Headquarters	Kirkel, Germany
Key people	Wolfgang Werner, CEO & Chairman
Industry	Retail (Home Improvement)
Products	Home improvement products such as appliances, tools, hardware, and garden supplies & plants.
Revenue	▲3.95 billion Euro (2007) ^[1]
Employees	27,000
Website	www.praktiker.com

A Praktiker store in Bucharest, Romania

Praktiker activities

Praktiker (FWB: PRAG) is a German hypermarket chain offering home improvement and do-it-yourself goods. It is based in Kirkel, Saarland, and opened its first store in 1978. The chain was from 1978 until 1995 a division of ASKO and after the fusion of ASKO with Metro Cash & Carry in 1995 until 22 November 2005 a division of Metro AG and is now a fully independent corporation, noted at the MDAX.

1 Praktiker in Germany
2 Praktiker in Europe
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Praktiker in Germany

In 1979 Praktiker opened its first four stores in Germany. Over the years Praktiker took over many smaller companies and changed most of their stores into Praktiker stores:

1979: 9 "BayWa" stores
1985: 12 "Wickes" stores
1991: "Esbella", "Continent"
1993: "BLV", "MHB", "Massa", "Huma", "Extra", "Real-Kauf"
1996: 27 "Bauspar" stores
1997: 60 "Wirichs" stores
1998: 25 "Extra" franchise stores
2000: 27 "Top-Bau" stores
2006: 76 "Max Bahr" stores

[edit] Praktiker in Europe

Country	First store	Number of stores	Sales (thousands)
Germany	1979	337¹	€2,863,000
Poland	1997	20
Romania	2002	20	€250,000
Hungary	1998	17
Greece	1991	10
Turkey	1998	9
Bulgaria	2004	9
Luxembourg	1978	3
Ukraine	2007	1
Albania	2008	-
Moldova	2009	-

(¹) including the 76 Max Bahr stores, which Praktiker bought in August 2006.

As of 2006, the chain operates 340 stores in eight countries: Luxembourg, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

In Bulgaria, the company operates 8 stores as of December 2007: two in Sofia (one of which in Lyulin) and one each in Varna, Plovdiv, Bourgas, Rousse, Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo. Several others are in construction or planning.

In Romania, Praktiker operates 20 stores: three in the capital Bucharest, two in Timişoara and one each in Constanţa, Ploieşti, Brăila, Braşov, Oradea, Arad, Satu Mare, Baia Mare, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu-Mureş, Bacău, Craiova, Galaţi, Târgovişte and Iaşi.