“In Bulgaria we invested in good locations at a time when the market was only starting to take shape and now these investments are paying off,” said Evtimov.

Bulgarian company Doverie Brico, which holds the rights of the French Do It Yourself (DIY) retailer Mr. Bricolage for Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia, is in negotiations to expand its franchise across the region – to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo, Andrei Evtimov, Mr. Bricolage’s managing director for Bulgaria, said, quoted by Dnevnik daily. “We expect to wrap up the negotiations with the French company soon,” he added.

Established in 1999 expressly to introduce the French brand to Bulgaria, Doverie Brico currently operates 10 outlets in the country and is working on projects in Serbia and Macedonia. It would also like to promote the Mr. Bricolage products in other of the region's markets. There is large potential in Albania, Kosovo and some of the ex-Yugoslav countries, since their market is still underdeveloped, Evtimov pointed out.

“In Bulgaria we invested in good locations at a time when the market was only starting to take shape and now these investments are paying off,” said Evtimov.

The company plans to open at least one, possibly two, stores in Serbia and at least one outlet in Macedonia by the end of 2009.

Mr.Bricolage's main competition on the Bulgarian market is its German counterpart Praktiker.

The Austrian home improvement retailer BauMax is poised to join the DIY market this year.