Guenter Vosskaemper, the 53-year old manager running Praktiker Romania DIY network since 2002, the year the company entered the market, will be replaced, starting next month, by Michael Krahn, the former CEO or Praktiker Poland. Vosskaemper will be transferred to the company's Turkish subsidiary. During his tenure, Praktiker reached 25 operational stores with total sales worth almost 300m euros and kept its position as market leader on the DIY retail segment.
The management change at the domestic company comes at a time when the real estate market decline, the crisis and the arrival of some strong, international rivals are seriously threatening its leading position, as well as the fast growth the company has boasted in recent years.
The retailer felt the first crisis effects in fourth quarter of 2008, when job uncertainty led to shrinking consumption, as Praktiker's financial report shows.
Moreover, RON decline against the euro by around 10% in 2007-2008 significantly eroded the sales growth rates reported by Praktiker at the level of the Romanian market. Thus, in 2008 the company reported the first annual sales decline in euros in the older stores of the network.
On the Romanian market, Vosskaemper led the team that laid the foundations of the Praktiker network and expanded it to 25 stores at present. Last year, the company had around 2,500 employees. In 2008, the Romanian market was at the centre of Praktiker's expansion outside Germany, with 5 stores being opened domestically, in the wake of investments ranging between 8 and 15m euros per store. The company announced slower growth for this year, amid trend changes on the market, but has not specified the number of stores due for opening.
The Germans appointed another Praktiker veteran at the helm of the Romanian network, Michael Krahn, with a 19-year experience within the DIY company.
