DIY in Turkey

The DIY sector, as we know it in Western Europe, is still in its infancy on the Bosphorus. In a country where do-it-yourself home improvement is less common than in this part of the world, some Western DIY chains are now trying their luck.

Only few have made the plunge into the Turkish market so far: Praktiker still has the strongest presence with 10 outlets, followed by Bauhaus with 7 and Baumax with 4. One characteristic of the Turkish DIY market is that there is no real do-it-yourself tradition in the country, with households most often relying on specialists. This trend toward fewer people undertaking home improvement themselves can also be observed in Austria, for instance. More and more consumers fall back on the services of DIY chains or furniture houses when it comes to repairs, installation, or renovation. Local competition for organised chain store DIY in Turkey may to some extent be seen in logistics and storage centres outside the cities, where individual DIY products may be purchased. These centres do not yet show any organised characteristics.

The newest promising economic development in Turkey can also be found in the retail investment sector: the country's GDP rose by around 9 percent in the second quarter of 2011, and by over 11 percent in the first. Similarly, the previous year saw Turkey sport economic growth of over 7 percent, after a 4.7 percent drop in 2009. Turkey thus made it out of the crisis better than virtually any other country in Europe. The current purchasing power level in Turkey stands at an average of around 3,000 euros.