Bulgaria’s Doverie Brico to launch first Mr. Bricolage DIY Outlet in Serbia by the end of 2009 and targets Albania in 2010

SOFIA, April 1–Bulgarian company Doverie Brico, a franchisee of French do-it-yourself retail chain Mr. Bricolage, said on Wednesday it will open its first outlet in Serbia by the end of the year and will target a launch in Albania in 2010, later than initially planned.
Problems with finding partners to carry out construction delayed the rollouts abroad, the company said in a statement. The outlet in Serbia will be opened later than it was planned this year while the launch in Albania has been delayed by a year.
Doverie Brico’s franchise covers Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.
The first Serbian store will open in the eastern city of Nis and will be operated by Doverie Brico’s local subsidiary Brico Spec. In Albania, Doverie Brico’s local unit, Briko Iliria, is in talks to open two stores – one in the capital Tirana and another one in the second largest city of Durres, on the Adriatic coast.
The company said it has abandoned plans to open an outlet in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Doverie Brico intended to invest 10.7 million EUR in its network at home and abroad in 2008 but spent just 1.5 million EUR of the planned total, it added.
Doverie Brico, which runs 10 stores in Bulgaria, posted an 84 percent rise in consolidated net profit 3,2 million EUR last year. Consolidated sales were 28 percent higher on the year, reaching 73 million EUR in 2008.