Leroy Merlin is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 worldwide home-improvement

Home improvement

Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.-Types of home improvement:...

 and gardening retailer.

Generally established on the outskirts of major town and cities, Leroy Merlin stores are large centers (9000 m² on average) providing self-service and sales assisted services. Its business is centered around six main sectors: DIY

Do it yourself

Do it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...

, building

Building

In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

, gardening

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...

, sanitary equipment, renewable energy

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...

, and interior decoration.

History

In 1923, Adolphe Leroy and Rose Merlin, associates in private and business life, opened a business of American surplus. Strengthened by this first success, they decided to sell DIY products and supplies at moderate prices. In 1960, the firm was named Leroy Merlin. It became a precursor, as it was the first company to offer a free delivery service.

Business units

• Aki
• Bricocenter
• Weldom

Superstore installations

Spanish electricity utility Endesa

Endesa (Spain)

Endesa, S.A. is the largest electric utility company in Spain. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, has 10 million customers in Spain, with domestic annual generation of over 97,600 GWh from nuclear, fossil-fueled, hydroelectric, and renewable resource power...

 has installed a 100 kWh solar plant, covering 1,700m² with 670 photovoltaic panels, for Leroy Merlin at its superstore in Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spain.

Products

Leroy Merlin stocks ICP Solar Technologies Sunsei solar charger

Solar charger

thumb|right|150px|Solar charger integrated into a backpackSolar charger employs solar energy to supply electricity to devices or charge batteries. They are generally portable....

s and related products. It is estimated that Leroy Merlin will purchase approximately $0.4 million of ICP Solar's chargers in 2009.