Bauhaus AG is a German home improvement chain with over 270 locations in 19 European countries. Now headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Bauhaus is Germany’s second-largest home improvement chain and was founded by Heinz-Georg Baus in 1960.
Capitalising on the do-it-yourself trend underway in North America, Heinz-Georg opened his first DIY store in Mannheim, Germany. After the company was officially established, its first international location was opened in Austria in 1972, followed by Denmark in 1988. The company is now present in all Nordic nations.
Expansion into Spain and Turkey began in 1996 and in Eastern European locations in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia continued throughout the 1990s. In 2013, Bauhaus took over 24 stores of the insolvent home improvement competitor, Praktiker.
The acquisitions added an estimated $700 million to the company’s annual revenue. Today, Germany accounts for more than half of Bauhaus’ approximately $7 billion in annual sales. Bernd Baus, son of the founder, currently heads the family firm.
- Family name: Baus family
- Sector: Consumer Products & Retail
- Founded: 1960
- Founder: Heinz-Georg Baus
- Country: Switzerland
- Company headquarters: Zug, Switzerland
- Managing Director: Bernd Baus
- Revenue: US$6.6 billion
- Family ownership: 100%
- Employees: 18,500
- Website: https://www.bauhaus.info/