Praktiker AG was a German
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 which operated in Europe. It was based in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and opened its first store in 1978 in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
under the name bâtiself. Initially owned by ASKO, the chain became a division of
Metro AG
Metro AG is a German multinational company based in Düsseldorf which operates business membership only cash and carry stores primarily under the Metro brand. Until 2020 it was also active in general retail business through Real division, wh ...
after the merger of ASKO with Metro Cash & Carry in 1995. It was spun off under the name Praktiker Holding in November 2005 and listed on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time).
Organisation
Locat ...
. Since 2006 until 2011 was listed on
MDAX
The MDAX is a stock index which lists German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The index is calculated by Deutsche Börse.
Until 2021 included the 60 Prime Standard shares from sectors that rank immediately below (in value of mar ...
and since 2011 until 2013 on
SDAX
The SDAX (German abbreviation for ''Small-Cap-deutsche Aktienindex'') is a stock market index composed of 70 small and medium-sized companies in Germany. These so-called ' small caps' rank directly below the MDAX (mid-cap) shares in terms of o ...
.
In contrast to most of its German competitors, the company grew up by buying up various small DIY chains and building material stores. In addition, there was expansion into the new federal states and other European countries in the 1990s. After Metro AG's withdrawal as shareholder in 2006, the company experienced an existential crisis and posted high losses for years. Despite intensive efforts and considerable financial injections, the attempts to
restructure failed.
On July 10, 2013 Praktiker AG filed for
insolvency
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
at the Hamburg district court the following day for the eight domestic subsidiaries, including Extra Bau+Hobby. The insolvency application for Praktiker AG was filed on July 12, 2013 at the Saarbrücken District Court and on 25 July 2013 for the Max Bahr subsidiary. The Praktiker and Extra stores were closed on 30 November 2013, followed by the Max Bahr stores on February 25, 2014.
External subsidiares were not affected by the
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. All of them were sold to other companies between 2013 and 2015. The name Praktiker continues to be used by former subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Turkey.
In 2016 two German businessmen acquired the naming rights and opened under praktiker.de a home improvement
online store
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the r ...
.
Operations
Germany
In 1979 Praktiker opened its first four stores in Germany. Over the years Praktiker took over many smaller companies and changed most of their stores into Praktiker stores:
* 1979: 9 "BayWa" stores
* 1985: 12 "Wickes" stores
* 1991: "Esbella", "Continent"
* 1993: "BLV", "MHB", "Massa", "Huma", "Extra", "Real-Kauf"
* 1996: 27 "Bauspar" stores
* 1997: 60 "Wirichs" stores
* 1998: 25 "Extra" franchise stores
* 2000: 27 "Top-Bau" stores
* 2006: 76 "Max Bahr" stores
The Praktiker management began in late 2012 with the transformation of 119 Praktiker stores to Max Bahr stores. At the end of this process in December 2013 Germany should have 117 Praktiker and 196 Max Bahr outlets, at the beginning of that process there were 236 Praktiker and 78 Max Bahr stores. Because of the insolvency applications in July 2013 all those plans are stopped, with 54 former Praktiker stores already transferred to Max Bahr outlets. The companies Hellweg and Globus failed to reach an agreement with the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
to buy 59 Max Bahr stores in November 2013. All Praktiker, Extra Bau+Hobby and Max Bahr stores were closed by the end of November 2013 (Praktiker, Extra, 40 Max Bahr stores) or at the end of February 2014 (remaining Max Bahr stores).
Europe
Former subsidiaries still using Praktiker name
The
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n subsidiary, Praktiker EOOD, was sold to Videolux Holding AD. The company which operates electronics retailer Technopolis, opened two new stores and reconstructed all Praktiker stores in the end of 2017.
Praktiker
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
was sold on April 8, 2014 to Canadian investor
Fairfax Financial
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a Canadian financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, which is engaged in property, casualty, insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operate ...
.
The 19
Hungarian Praktiker stores were sold to Papag AG in January 2015, and again to Wallis Group in January 2016.
In
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, Praktiker initially closed the 9 stores after it failed to find a buyer. Later stores were bought by Uygulama Yapı Marketleri Inc. and were reopened, followed by the opening of new stores.
Former subsidiaries
The three Luxembourgian "bâtiself" stores in
Foetz,
Strassen and
Ingeldorf
Ingeldorf ( ) is a small town in the commune of Erpeldange, in central Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand ...
were sold in October 2013. Now the bâtiself stores were rebranded and are not anymore related to the Praktiker brand.
In
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, the first store was opened on November 29, 2007 in
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
, three more opened in
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
,
Mykolaiv and
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. The stores were sold on February 11, 2014 to Ukrainian investor Kreston Guarantee Group.
The network was rebranded in 2017 as
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 ...
.
Praktiker Romania S.R.L. which operated 27 stores in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, was sold to Search Chemicals in February 2014,. In 2017, 20 stores were bought by
Kingfisher plc
Kingfisher plc is a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England.
It has over 1,300 stores in nine countries, and its brands include B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt and Screwfix. Kingfisher is listed on the London St ...
, and rebranded as
Brico Dépôt.
The 24 Praktiker stores in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
were sold to Papag AG in March 2014.
However the group was declared bankrupted in 2017, and all the stores were closed,
part of the former Praktiker stores are now part of the Castorama network detained by Kingfisher.
In
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, the first store was opened on October 30, 2009 in
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
. It was closed on November 30, 2011 due to the restructuring.
In
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
, the company had planned to open a store in 2009 in
Chişinău, but it was canceled later.
References
External links
Praktiker.dePraktiker BulgariaPraktiker GreecePraktiker HungaryPraktiker TurkeyPraktiker Poland(Archive)
Praktiker Romania(Archive)
Praktiker Ukraine(Archive)
{{Commons category, Praktiker
Hardware stores
Companies based in Hamburg
Retail companies established in 1978
Retail companies disestablished in 2014
German brands
Defunct retail companies of Romania