Kirkel / Tirana – 23 September 2009. Praktiker Group, one of the leading DIY chain operators in Europe, is about to make its market entry into Albania. On 30 October 2009, the first DIY and home improvement center with an area of around 8,700 square meters will open its gates in the capital of Tirana. This move will make Praktiker a pioneer in this market: So far there has been no comparable retail format – whether operated by a national or international corporation – in the whole country.

The store in Tirana will be the 103rd international location and the emerging country with its 3.2 million inhabitants located on the southern Adriatic Sea will be the ninth foreign country in the international portfolio of the Praktiker Group. Albania’s population and economic power have been growing steadily for years and the country also proved to be relatively robust in the present financial and economic crisis. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecasts a 1.2 percent rise in the gross domestic product for 2009 while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a slight plus of 0.4 percent. Forecasts for the year 2010 predict that the GDP will grow by 1.8 to 2.0 percent. Add to this the home ownership quota of well over 90 percent and a real estate stock with a massive need for renovation and rehabilitation. At the same time, Albania so far has no established retailer with outlets offering DIY and home improvement products.

“In this small market which is programmed for growth, Praktiker can fully draw on its competence advantage as a pioneer in the Southeast European DIY business, cultivate a field that is as yet untilled and at the same time contribute to the development of the construction and rehabilitation sector in Albania”, stressed the CEO of Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG, Wolfgang Werner. “We clearly decelerated our international expansion under the impact of the global economic crisis, but we did not stop it. The market entry into Albania will enable us to further expand the dominating position of the Praktiker brand in that region from an improved starting position after the end of the crisis which is already on the horizon”.