British do-it-yourself (DYI) retailer Kingfisher, who bought the Bricostore chain in Romania last year, announced that its sales in Romania in the first reporting quarter of this year (February to April) were of almost EUR 20 million, or about EUR 6.5 million a month, according to the group’s quarterly report.

“Bricostore Romania, acquired in Q2 2013/14, contributed sales of GBP 16 million (EUR 19.6 million) and retail loss of  GBP 4 million (EUR 4.9 million) including the costs relating to the conversion of the first two stores to the Brico Depot format, which both opened in March this year,” the group’s quarterly report mentions.

Kingfisher currently operates 15 stores in Romania, two of which were already converted to the Brico Depot discount store format, while the others are still under the Bricostore brand. Total selling space stands at some 156,000 sqm and the number of employees at 970.

Kingfisher posted overall sales of more than EUR 3.4 billion in the reporting period, which is 6 percent more than in the same period last year. The group has over 1,130 stores, most of them in France and in the UK, and more than 67,000 employees.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com