British group Kingfisher, the owner of the Bricostore do-it-yourself chain, had sales of GBP 42 million (some EUR 52.5 million) in Romania in the first semester of its fiscal year, which started in February and ended in August. The group also posted a GBP 6 million (EUR 7.5 million) loss on the local market.

Last year, Kingfisher bought 15 DIY stores operated under the Bricostore brand in Romania, for GBP 63 million (EUR 79 million) including debt. The British group then started their rebranding into Brico Depot and already reopened two stores under the new brand in Bucharest (Orhideea and Pantelimon). The rebranding costs contributed to the group’s loss on the local market, but the new Brico Depot stores are outperforming the previous format, according to the group’s half-year report.

Kingfisher also said it would accelerate the rebranding process so the other 13 units will be rebranded by the first quarter of next year. Kingfisher posts losses in Romania due to rebranding costs for the Bricostore chain. “Given encouraging results from these first two stores, the remaining 13 will be rebranded earlier than originally planned, by Q1 next year. The additional investment impact of this acceleration on 2014/15 profit will be a net charge of around GBP 6 million (EUR 7.5 mln –e.n.).”

Kingfisher had 1,112 employees in Romania at the beginning of August this year.

editor@romania-insider.com