Press releases

OBI has opened its first store in Saint Petersburg

Moscow, 4th of October 2006 - On October the 4th the first OBI store in Saint Petersburg officially opened. The governor of Saint Petersburg Valentina Matvienko, the vice-governor of Saint Petersburg Mikhail Oseevsky, the CEO of OBI in Russia Romano Quinzi took part in the inauguration.

OBI Lahta is the fifth store in Russia. The store offers more than 50'000 products for building, renovation, decoration and gardening.

The customers find an attractive product range that has been improved further based on the experience in the existing Russian stores. To make shopping at OBI even more convenient at OBI Lahta store operating hours range from 8 till 22 on seven days a week.

With the first store opened 30 years ago OBI is on of the leading DIY brands in Europe today. Out of the currently 494 OBI stores in Europe five are located in Russia. Since the opening of its first two stores in Moscow OBI has gained leadership in the Russian DIY market. With the opening of the Kazan store in December, 2005 OBI starting its regional expansion and by expanding into the biggest Russian cities the company will further bolster and sustain its market leading position.

"We have a strong interest in the Russian market" says Romano Quinzi, CEO of OBI Russia. "Therefore we have been always looking for expanding our business beyond Moscow into the regions. Thus, it is strategically important for us to open our first OBI store in Saint Petersburg."

Until recently OBI operated four stores in Russia (three of them in Moscow and one in Kazan). However, the number of stores is growing: OBI Lahta is the first of seven new stores this year: by December 2006 another three stores in Saint Petersburg, two in Nizhny Novgorod and one in Yekaterinburg will open their doors to Russian customers.

OBI top management is convinced about the success of its business in the North-Western region. This confidence is based on our sales figures accumulating for the four Russian stores in 2005/2006 OBI fiscal year to EUR 170 million.

The fact that such a strong player as OBI enters the local market is an important event not only for the company itself but for the entire region.

Each of the new stores in Saint Petersburg will employ 150 to 200 staff working in accordance with the Russian labour legislation offering additional medical insurance, trainings and career opportunities. There is an ambitious project of OBI to found its own training centre which will dramatically improve professional qualities of its associates.

In addition, as an important local tax payer OBI will substantially contribute to the municipal budget of Saint Petersburg.

Yet the region will profit even more: OBI in Saint Petersburg has already been actively cooperating with local producers and distributors. About 20% of the whole assortment of the new store in Lahta will be sourced locally and more than 60 % of the suppliers are Russian distribution companies. Thus, OBI’s market entry strengthens local business.

OBI in Russia will expand beyond the seven stores planned for this year. Next year OBI further grows its store network giving citizens in additional big Russian cities the opportunity to appreciate the broad assortment of goods, attractive prices and reliable quality for building, renovation, decoration and gardening.

OBI company profile

OBI is a leading DIY brand both in Germany and in Europe.Outside Germany OBI's international presence extends to Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Ranking fourth in the global DIY industry OBI employs about 37'000 staff. Sales in 2005/06 were at EUR 6,6 bn with 30% per cent contributed by the international business.