French hypermarket chain "Mr. Bricolage" to enter Serbian market - 9m EUR worth of investment in Niš

Construction of the first facility of French hypermarket chain "Mr. Bricolage" in Serbia, which sells "do-it-yourself" articles, started yesterday (June 16, 2009) in Niš. The project in Medijana Boulevard, of which total value is estimated at about 9m EUR, is the investment by company "Brico Spec", which is 100% owned by French-Bulgarian company "Doverie Briko AD".

The facility at 5,800 square meters should be built in that location prior to November 2009. Its offer will include 50,000 articles for house, garden and workshop. Additional logistic center will be built next to that facility, and it will be supplying food to another five hypermarkets "Mr. Bricolage" that will be built in other parts of Serbia within the next three years. Total value of these facilities amounts to about 40m EUR.

The Director General of company "Briko Spec", Milen Hristov, told "eKapija" that there were no doubt that "SMB gradnja" would finish the job before the deadline.

(Milen Hristov)

- Commencement of construction of trade center in Niš represents a new chapter in Serbian-Bulgarian relations. The facility in Niš will first employ 90 people, and the number of workers will later grow to 140. All employees will complete the training that meets the standards of company "Mr. Bricolage". In addition to trade center, we also plan to have a logistic center built in Niš - said Milen Hristov.

Bruno Kantoni, the International Development Manager in "Mr. Bricolage", said that he expected that that French-Bulgarian direct foreign investment, , at the time of the global economic crisis, would give strong impulse to further development of the Niš region.

(Bruno Kantoni)

Pointing to the significance of that investment, the Mayor of Niš, Miloš Simonović, invited other Bulgarian and French companies to come and start business in Niš.

This solemn event was attended by French Ambassador Jan Francois Terral, Bulgarian Ambassador Georgi Dimitrov and Dejan Jovanović, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy.

"Mr. Bricolage" with 1,000,000 square meters of retail space is one of the world's largest hypermarket chains, and it operates through the network of 527 stores. Its offer includes over 40,000 articles for organization of house and garden. Group "Mr.Bricolage" has about 11,000 employees all around the world.