CWA purchases Luxembourgish Praktiker stores

200 jobs saved

Praktiker’s had three ‘Bâtiself’ stores in Luxembourg,
with a 2012 turnover of 34.7 million euro. Its 200
employees will transfer to CWA, who will continue to use all three stores
under the same name. These three stores will join three other stores, called
Bati C, in Luxembourg and France.

Praktiker had to shut down mid-July,
as its debt burden turned out to be too large. Competing with the bottom half
of the DIY market proved deadly, with a 2011 loss of 554 million euro, with
2012 adding another 118.9 million euro in losses. Praktiker is still talking to
other possible interested parties, hoping to sell off non-German Praktiker
stores. Liquidator Christopher Seagon hopes to finish all proceedings shortly.

(translated by Gary Peeters)