Leroy Merlin () is a French-headquartered

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Leroy Merlin is owned by the

Mulliez family The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) is the holding company of the Mulliez family. The entrepreneur family originates from around the Lille area of France, and is one of the wealthiest families in the country. AFM was founded in 1955 by Géra ...

, which also owns

Auchan Auchan () is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% ...

History

In 1923, Adolphe Leroy and Rose Merlin, associates in private and business life, opened a business of American surplus. Strengthened by this first success, they decided to sell DIY products and supplies at moderate prices. In 1960, the firm was named Leroy Merlin. It became a precursor, as it was the first company to offer free delivery services. Generally established on the outskirts of major towns and cities, Leroy Merlin stores are large centres (9000 m² on average) providing self-service and sales assisted services. Its business is centred on six main sectors:

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 sem ...

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, frui ...

, sanitary equipment,

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

, and

interior decoration Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordin ...

Controversies

Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, many international, particularly Western, companies pulled out of Russia. Leroy Merlin, however, on 11 March announced that it has no plans to reduce its operations in Russia, where it operates 143 stores. On 17 March they cut off the Ukrainian office from corporate communications and stated that they would increase supplies to the Russian Federation. Leroy Merlin has a strong presence in Russia and generates 18% of its turnover there. In 2020 the company paid $335 million in taxes as a result of their operations in Russia. The company has been criticized for making indirect contributions to the Russian military effort. On the night of 20-21 March 2022, a shopping centre in Kyiv housing a Leroy Merlin shop was bombed. Shop employees called on the company to leave Russia, as did the Ukrainian MP

Oleksiy Honcharenko Oleksiy Oleksiyovich Goncharenko ( uk, Олексій Олексійович Гончаренко; born in Odesa, 16 September 1980) is a Ukrainian politician, member of the Ukrainian parliament, member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliam ...

. The latter, elected in the constituency of Odessa and member of the Ukrainian delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

, broadcast a video. The video was shot in front of the devastated store. In a statement to AFP, Adeo, Leroy Merlin's holding company, said a closure would be considered a "premeditated bankruptcy" and says that it has an "employer's responsibility towards (its) 45,000 employees and their families who have been contributing to the building of Leroy Merlin Russia for the past 18 years". However, there are reports of insults and threats from customers following the company's continued operations in Russia.

Business units

* Aki * Bricocentre * Weldom

Renewable energy

Superstore installations

Spanish electricity utility

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

has installed a 100 kW solar plant, covering 1700 m² with 670 photovoltaic panels, for Leroy Merlin at its superstore in Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spain.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Superstores Garden centres Hardware stores Retail companies established in 1923 French brands Retail companies of Romania