Bulgarian bauMax Stores Change Name to HomeMax

HomeMax is the new name of the Bulgarian business of Austrian hypermarket chain bauMax.

bauMax sold its network of eight stores in Bulgaria to local investor Haedus JSC in September 2014.

The new owner has changed the concept of the stores, turning them into a place offering comprehensive solutions and finished products, according to a media statement of the company, as cited by money.bg.

The new owner vows to keep the "Gardening" and "Construction" units, which have traditionally been strong, but plans to introduce additional services that go beyond what is typically offered by other hypermarkets for construction materials.

"Global trends are changing and all chains of stores are now trying to follow the model imposed by IKEA, i.e. offering a comprehensive range of products and at the same time allowing the customer to combine items and materials to suit their own taste. We want to keep the good practices established by the predecessors but we shall also take into account domestic needs and the peculiarities of the local market," says Zahari Zahariev, Manager of the company.

The chain is a preferred supplier of construction materials to handymen and has long been a partner of large construction companies in Bulgaria. It offers over 40 000 items, many of which are own brand products.

"The Austrian parent chain provides us with top-quality own brand products and materials, which gives us the advantage of an optimal price-quality ratio because no brand-name premium is paid. Naturally, we intend to keep these products and develop them. At the same time, however, our goal is to introduce the best products manufactured by local producers," Zahariev says.