German retail chain Bauhaus, which offers products for home improvement, gardening and workshop, has tried since 2003 to enter the Icelandic construction product market. Now, nine years later, its store will finally open on Lambhagavegur in Reykjavík.
Bauhaus on Lambhagavegur. Photo by Dagbjört Oddný Matthíasdóttir.
Bauhaus had actually already bought the lot and constructed the store in 2008, and even hired employees, but a few months before it was scheduled to open in December that year the banks collapsed. The employees were laid off and Bauhaus put its plans on hold.
Ever since, the building with the Bauhaus sign has stood empty on Lambhagavegur.
CEO of Bauhaus Mads Jörgensen told Morgunblaðið that even though they don’t expect to generate profits in the beginning, it is financially more beneficial to open the store than keep it closed because it is also expensive to own the lot and building.
Bauhaus is now calling for applications, 60-80 positions need to be filled.
Click here to read more about Bauhaus in Iceland.
ESA
