OBI (retail chain) facts for kids
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Trade name
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OBI Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Home improvement DIY store |
| Founded | 1970 in Hamburg-Poppenbüttel, Germany |
| Founders | Dr. Emil Lux Manfred Maus |
| Headquarters |
Wermelskirchen
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Number of locations
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668 (2018) |
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Areas served
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Key people
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Sebastian Gundel, CEO |
| Revenue |  €7.7 billion (2018) |
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Number of employees
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42,000 (2015) |
| Parent | Tengelmann Group |
OBI GmbH & Co. Deutschland KG is a big German company. It sells things for home improvement and DIY (Do-It-Yourself) projects. Think of it as a store where you can buy tools, paint, garden supplies, and everything you need to fix up your house or garden! Its main office is in Wermelskirchen, Germany. OBI has 668 stores across Europe, with 351 of them in Germany.
History of OBI
OBI started in 1970. Three people named Emil Lux, Manfred Maus, and Klaus Birker opened the very first OBI store. It was in a shopping center called Alstertal in Hamburg-Poppenbüttel, Germany.
Later, in 1985, a company called the Tengelmann Group bought most of OBI. This meant they owned the biggest part of the company. In 2007, the Tengelmann Group bought even more shares from the Lux family, who helped start OBI.
OBI's Growth in Europe
OBI began to open stores in other countries. In 1999, OBI started working with a company called Migros to open stores in Switzerland.
The company also expanded into Romania in 2008. They opened 7 stores there by 2010. However, due to money problems and not having a big enough market share, OBI decided to close these stores in 2014. Five of them were sold to another company called Jumbo.
In 2008, OBI opened its first two stores in Ukraine. A third store followed in 2009. These stores also closed down in 2013.
In 2015, OBI took over 68 stores from a company called Baumax, which had gone out of business. Most of these stores, 48 of them, were in Austria. Others were in Slovakia (14 stores), Slovenia (2 stores), and Czechia (4 stores).
OBI and Russia
In March 2022, OBI stopped all its business in Russia. This was because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, on April 27, 2022, OBI stores in Russia started to open again. The company sold its business there to a Russian investor. A businessman named Josef Liokumovich became the new owner. He said he bought OBI's Russian business for a very small price, just 600 rubles (about 10 US dollars).
On December 9, 2022, one of OBI's stores in Russia had a fire. It was caused by a chemical explosion. Sadly, one person was affected by this event.
How OBI Operates
OBI has stores in many countries across Europe. Here is a list showing when OBI first opened a store in each country and how many stores it has there:
| Country | First store | Number of stores |
| Germany | 1970 | 351 |
| Italy | 1993 | 55 |
| Austria | 1995 | 82 |
| Poland | 1998 | 61 |
| Czech Republic | 1995 | 33 |
| Hungary | 1994 | 29 |
| Russia | 2003 | 27 |
| Slovakia | 2008 | 14 |
| Slovenia | 1998 | 8 |
| Switzerland (owned by Migros) | 1999 | 10 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina (owned by Solomaher) | 2003 | 1 |
See also
In Spanish: Obi (tienda) para niños
