Brico is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing suppli ...

-chain. The chain focuses mainly on

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

items, but also sells garden related articles. The chain has 140 locations (as of February 2016) spread over Belgium, about 95 of which are franchised.

History

The first store opened in 1973 in

Schoten Schoten () is a municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gives a population density of ...

. The name Brico comes from the French ''bricoler'', which means ''to do DIY''. During the 1980s, Brico produced two brands of its own, namely Stop and Bricobi. Currently these brands are known as Central Park and Sencys. Until 2002 Brico was part of the

GIB Group GIB Group (Grand Bazar Innovation Bon Marché) was a Belgian conglomerate, consisting of various retail and restaurant chains that existed until 2002. GIB Group owned GB (Grand Bazar) super/hypermarkets, Brico (home improvement/DIY), Inno (de ...

, when it was sold to the Dutch

Vendex Maxeda is a Dutch retail company owned by American investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Activities Maxeda DIY Group is the market leader in the DIY segment and has 345 stores in the Benelux and more than 7,000 employees. Most stores h ...

(currently

Maxeda Maxeda is a Dutch retail company owned by American investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Activities Maxeda DIY Group is the market leader in the DIY segment and has 345 stores in the Benelux and more than 7,000 employees. Most stores h ...

). Maxeda also owns the Hardware store-chains

Praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion * Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

and Formido. Former locations of

Leroy Merlin Leroy Merlin () is a French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Leroy Merlin is owned by the Mulliez family, which also owns Auchan. History In 1923, Ad ...

in Belgium have become part of Brico NV and have been reformed and renamed to Plan-It. These stores focus mainly on larger DIY and decoration projects. In 2006, first Brico City shops were opened. These are smaller stores in the city centers (

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Liege,

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

...) that focus on most basic and easy-to-store items.

Sponsoring

During the 1990s, the chain was co-sponsor of the

Mapei Mapei S.p.A. () is an Italian limited company founded in 1937 in Milan that manufactures chemical products for the building industry. History Innovation and research The company was founded and originally called ''Materiali Autarchici per ...

cycling team via the brand Bricobi.

e-shop

In 2006 Brico started its own webshop. The webshop is part of the Brico website.

External links

Brico.be
Official website of Brico

References

{{Authority control Retail companies of Belgium Retail companies established in 1973 Hardware stores