Kirkel – March 6, 2008. In the course of this week, the Praktiker Group reached another milestone on its international expansion route when it inaugurated new stores in Poland (Poznan) and Turkey (Istanbul). These are the first two of up to 20 stores planned to be set up in the course of 2008 to strengthen the presence of Praktiker in Eastern and South East Europe. Investments will be focused on Romania and the Ukraine.

In the second half of the year, the Praktiker Group’s international network of outlets will surpass the threshold of 100 stores. The international share in total sales of the Group, which was just above 27 percent in 2007, will thus reach unprecedented levels. “This growth rate and the sustainable, high profitability of our international business will in future make us even more independent of temporary fluctuations in domestic demand as experienced by the German DIY sector in 2007”, stressed Wolfgang Werner, Chairman of the Management Board of Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG. That is why international expansion was to be continued consistently in the coming year, too, he said.

This year, the extension of the international network encompasses up to 20 new sites in eight countries. At the end of February / beginning of March, one store was opened in Poznan (Poland), which was the second in this city, another one in Istanbul (Turkey), where Praktiker was already present with three outlets. In the further course of this year, in Romania alone at least five new stores are to follow suit so that the dominant market position of Praktiker will be strengthened further in that country. For the Ukraine, where the market was tapped at the end of 2007, at least three further stores have been planned. Other new outlets will be added in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Albania, the ninth international market for the Praktiker Group.

In many countries, Praktiker is pursuing a new strategy by setting up free-hold stores as an alternative to lease-holds in order to be able to participate in potential increases in value. Moreover, Praktiker is developing a new small scale format to cater to regions of lower population density. According to the present planning status, about one third of the new stores is to be realized on the basis of this concept, offering a selling space of 4,000 to 5,000 square meters.