Company Portrait

In brief

The Praktiker Group, with its head offices in Hamburg and Kirkel (Saarland, Germany), operates DIY stores in nine European countries. Praktiker offers a full assortment of products and services for a wide range of applications including construction, renovation, home repairs, home improvement, gardening and leisure. In Germany, the Group provides its DIY expertise through two brands, Praktiker and Max Bahr. Praktiker offers all of its customers, from price-conscious occasional do-it-yourselfers to quality-focussed professional craftsmen, a comprehensive range of products that is structured in line with demand. The product range includes both high-quality items from well-known brand manufacturers and private labels, characterised by a particularly favourable cost/benefit ratio. The wide variety of products is complemented by a range of services, spanning from wood cutting to trailer rental. Praktiker looks back over a thirty-five history, while Max Bahr will celebrate its 135th anniversary in 2014. With its competence and its many years of experience in the DIY business, the Group has achieved a very high level of brand awareness in all countries in which it operates. About 100 million customer contacts and an extensive market presence are evidence of the outstanding position occupied by the Praktiker Group in Germany and abroad.

History

The history of Praktiker AG began at the end of the nineteen-seventies when the first four Praktiker do-it-yourself markets were opened in Germany. The parent company at that time was a German retail chain, ASKO Deutsche Kaufhaus AG, with its headquarters in Saarbrücken. In 1996, Praktiker became a part of METRO Group. Successful stock-market flotation of Praktiker Holding AG on 22 November 2005. Spin-off from the METRO Group. From 1991 to 2010, Praktiker has been steadily expanding abroad, particularly in the dynamic markets of Central, Eastern Europe and south-east Europe. In addition to Germany, Praktiker now has outlets in eight different countries across Europe: in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine. Since 1 February 2007 also the German DIY company Max Bahr belongs to the Praktiker Group.

Two-brand strategy in Germany

The acquisition of Max Bahr allows the Praktiker Group to follow a two-brand strategy, which no other competitor in the German DIY market can offer. The service-oriented brand Max Bahr is an ideal addition to the discount-oriented brand Praktiker.

Praktiker Germany

In the home country of do-it-yourself, the consumer is above all: price-conscious. Praktiker takes this into account. No other German DIY chain is so aggressive when it comes to price, no other is so discount-oriented. Permanently low prices, bargain offers and discount campaigns (“20 percent off everything – except pet food”) have made Praktiker a very attractive brand in the eyes of customers in terms of price. Praktiker also means fast, uncomplicated and convenient shopping in an appropriate store format. Without compromise – at around 230 stores throughout Germany.

Max Bahr

Customers who attach particular importance to service, advice, a wide choice and ambience, in addition to good prices and top quality, will be well served at Max Bahr. The Hamburg-based company, which has a long tradition (“DIY store since 1879”) always achieves excellent marks in customer satisfaction. This has not changed since its integration into the Praktiker Group in February 2007. Max Bahr is the premium brand in the Group, which opens up additional customer potential. In process of the restructuring program of the Praktiker Group in 2012, the conversions of stores from the Praktiker brand to the Max Bahr brand has been started. Max Bahr is to become the main sales line in Germany.

Praktiker International

Other countries, other markets. Praktiker has its roots in Luxembourg and in Germany, but is also at home in many places in Europe. This is what determines success at an international level: being able to adapt to national peculiarities and the requirements of each individual market. Whether in Luxembourg or Greece, in Turkey or in the emerging reformed states of eastern and south-eastern Europe, Praktiker knows what its customers want: good prices and good quality. And service where it is needed. More than 100 stores in eight countries now generate about one third of consolidated sales.