The DIY market is likely to reach critical mass this year: 100 "construction supplies hypermarkets", operated by the seven large companies on the market that primarily operate on the retail segment. While some players still have tens of million euros to invest, others are speaking about the "imminent" closing of some stores, reads Business Construct magazine.

How quickly stages are burnt in the Romanian economy can also be noticed from the development of the DIY market: in 2002, in March, France's Bricostore opened the first DIY store in Romania, at the exit way from Bucharest to Piteşti. In September of the same year, Germany's Praktiker opened at the opposite end of Bucharest, in Voluntari, the second DIY store in Romania, while brothers Adrian and Dragoş Pavăl of Bacău started building their own network of medium and large stores, under Dedeman brand, in Suceava.

Since then, the market has expanded each year in the wake of investments that can now be put at 800-1,000 million euros, through which 93 such stores were raised, operated by seven companies that last year generated overall sales of around 900m euros.

But how much more can this market absorb? "I am quite certain that some Bucharest stores will close in the following years. It is a highly crowded market. On other markets there are three or four competitors. Here there are six or seven (...)," says Nicola Szekely, country manager with BauMax.

The DIY market is likely to reach critical mass this year: 100 "construction supplies hypermarkets", operated by the seven large companies on the market that primarily operate on the retail segment. While some players still have tens of million euros to invest, others are speaking about the "imminent" closing of some stores, reads Business Construct magazine.

How quickly stages are burnt in the Romanian economy can also be noticed fr