Stark
STARK Danmark is Denmark's #1 B2B building materials distributor, serving professional tradespeople and private self-builders through 85+ stores, distribution centers, and the stark.dk e-commerce platform. Founded in 1896, it offers construction materials, tools, paint, workwear, and digital procurement services with revenue exceeding 10 billion DKK annually.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1896
- HeadquartersViby, Denmark
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Stark does
STARK Danmark A/S is the Danish operating subsidiary of STARK Group, the #1 B2B building materials distributor in Denmark and a Top-20 Danish company, founded in 1896 and headquartered in Viby. The company sells construction materials, tools, machinery, paint (with free tinting), workwear, electrical, plumbing, garden, and rental products to approximately 85% professional tradespeople (B2B) and 15% private self-builders (B2C), through 85+ physical stores across Denmark and Greenland, three distribution centers, three central warehouses, a 145-truck delivery fleet, and the stark.dk e-commerce platform. Approximately 2,400 STARK Danmark employees serve a customer base that includes carpenters, masons, contractors, and large construction companies such as TS Stilladsmontage and Enemærke & Petersen.
The business is anchored by a digital infrastructure for B2B procurement: E-faktura (e-invoice) supporting Nemhandel, Peppol, FTP/SFTP, AS2/AS4 with EDI formats EDIFACT D96A and OIOUBL 2.02; Punch Out integration via OCI and cXML (Ariba, Oracle-Fusion, Tellis, TrueTrade, Tricom, Rakat, Bubobubo, SDI); weekly Prisfiler (price file) feeds into 10+ construction ERPs (Apacta, Minuba, E-Komplet, Ordrestyring, Smartkalk, Sigma, Visual, Xena, Hallerup.net, Kala, e-conomic); KlimaLog climate/LCA documentation; a Digitalt Kundekort in Apple and Google Wallet; and the Tøjwebshop for corporate workwear ordering.
Revenue mechanics are primarily transactional (account-based B2B sales, SelvByg club subscriptions, Tøjwebshop subscriptions, STARK PIT depot-room rentals from 1,140 DKK/month, equipment rental, and digital-services subscriptions). The SelvByg membership offers 10% discounts and 60-day returns; professional accounts receive negotiated pricing, credit facilities, multi-year contracts, and free shipping over 7,500 DKK. Parent STARK Group is private-equity-owned (CVC, since January 2021), reporting ~52.5 billion DKK group revenue across 1,150+ stores and 20,000+ employees in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, Germany, and Austria; STARK Danmark alone contributes more than 10 billion DKK annually. The company holds EcoVadis Platinum (top 1% globally, score 93), SBTi commitments (42% CO2 reduction by 2030, Net Zero by 2050), and ISO 14001/45001 certifications.
Stark firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stark
- Legal name
- STARK Danmark A/S
- Website
- https://stark.dk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1896
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- STARK Danmark is Denmark's #1 B2B building materials distributor, serving professional tradespeople and private self-builders through 85+ stores, distribution centers, and the stark.dk e-commerce platform. Founded in 1896, it offers construction materials, tools, paint, workwear, and digital procurement services with revenue exceeding 10 billion DKK annually.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stark industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Building Materials Distribution
- NAICS
- Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4237), Roofing, Siding, and Insulation Material Merchant Wholesalers (423330), Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4234)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030), Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers (5211), Wholesale-Hardware & Plumbing & Heating Equipment & Supplies (5070)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Workplace/Jobsite Supplies Retail (Site Consumables, Tarps, Ropes, Chains) (CRAIADAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Fasteners, Adhesives & Sealants Retail (Nails, Screws, Glues, Caulks) (CRAIAEAK), Concrete, Cement & Aggregates Retail (Bagged Mix, Sand, Gravel) (CRAIAEAG)
Keywords
Where Stark is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Viby
- HQ country
- Denmark
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices88 records
Markets served
Stark business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- B2B Building Materials Sales: STARK generates the majority of revenue (~85%) from B2B sales of building materials to professional tradespeople including carpenters, masons, and contractors. Products include construction materials, tools, machinery, paint, workwear, electrical, plumbing, and garden supplies. Professional customers receive negotiated pricing through account agreements and access to dedicated services.
- B2C Building Materials Sales: STARK serves private self-builders (SelvByg members) who receive 10% discounts on thousands of products. This segment represents approximately 15% of revenue and includes paint mixing services, workwear sales, and general building materials.
- Workwear Megastore Sales: Sale of workwear, PPE, and footwear through dedicated Workwear Megastores and the Tøjwebshop platform. STARK offers custom corporate workwear with logo printing through its specialized clothing webshop.
- Digital Services & E-commerce: Revenue from digital services including e-invoicing setup, price file subscriptions, and Punch Out integration services. E-commerce platform stark.dk processes orders for both B2B and B2C customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Prof-kunde (Professional Customer) pricing with account-based rates |
| Subscription | Annual | SelvByg (Self-Builder) membership with 10% discount |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard retail pricing for non-account customers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Fragtfri (Free Delivery) threshold |
| Subscription | Monthly | STARK PIT Depotrum storage rental |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels6 records
Stark product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stark operates as Denmark's largest building materials distributor, supplying professional tradespeople and private self-builders through 85+ physical stores, an e-commerce platform (stark.dk), three distribution centers, and a fleet of 145 trucks. The company sells construction materials, tools, machinery, paint, workwear, electrical, plumbing, and garden supplies, complemented by services such as equipment rental, paint tinting, e-invoicing, and the KlimaLog climate documentation platform.
Product overview
STARK is Denmark's largest building materials distributor offering a comprehensive multi-format retail and e-commerce platform. The core offering centers on STARK.dk Webshop supplemented by 85+ physical stores across Denmark and Greenland. The product portfolio includes building materials, tools, paint (with free tinting), workwear/safety equipment, electrical, plumbing, garden products, and equipment rental. Digital services include Prof-Login B2B portal, E-faktura (e-invoice) with 15+ ERP integrations (Apacta, E-conomic, Minuba, etc.), Punch Out procurement integration (OCI/cXML), and price file subscriptions. Key customer programs include SelvByg (10% discount club for private self-builders) and Prof-Kunde (professional contractor accounts). STARK operates four Workwear Megastores and specialty services including 24/7 customer service, 60-day returns, guaranteed assortment, robot warehouse automation, and KlimaLog climate documentation. The company also offers Own Brand products (RAW, RAPTOR, DOMESTIC, BASIC) and sustainability initiatives like GENTRÆ wood recycling and Byg Grønt labeling. STARK Group operates across 7 countries with 1,150+ locations and 20,000+ employees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RAW: Own brand product line.
- RAPTOR
- DOMESTIC
- BASIC
- SelvByg
- STARK Tøjwebshop
- Garantisortiment
- KlimaLog
- STARK Lighthub
- STARK Group Own Brand
Products and services
- Building Materials
Quantifiable outcome
- Halved clothing consumption and budget for TS Stilladsmontage through use of STARK Tøjwebshop
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Stark
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stark technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration28 records
Feature7 records
Stark partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Element LogiccoreSTARK has signed an agreement with Element Logic to invest in advanced warehouse technology (robot warehouse) for a new national distribution center, modernizing its logistics and distribution capabilities.
- ComebackcoreSTARK partners with Comeback Aarhus, a collaboration with the Magistraten for Sociale forhold og Beskæftigelse, Aarhus Kommune, helping marginalized young men aged 16-35 take responsibility for their own development. They have together produced gangways from collected timber from GENTRÆ-projektet.
- TAMUcoreSTARK partners with TAMU, a labor market training program for 18-30 year olds with personal and social difficulties. Together with STARK customers, young people from TAMU have produced chairs and owl boxes from collected timber from GENTRÆ-projektet.
- Enemærke & PetersenminorEnemærke & Petersen participated in the GENTRÆ project collaboration with STARK, TAMU, and Comeback, processing timber from construction sites into new products like gangways for use in construction projects.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves14 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Stark competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Jem & Fix: Danish hardware and building materials chain with strong B2C presence. Comparable product categories (tools, hardware, basic building materials) but skews consumer/daily-goods rather than professional contractor.
- Kingfisher: European home improvement group operating B&Q, Castorama, and Screwfix. Comparable product breadth across building materials, tools, and workwear — Screwfix in particular has a professional B2B model analogous to STARK's Prof-kunde program.
- Byggmax: Nordic DIY/building materials retailer operating across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Comparable building materials and tools assortment, but positioned at the value/DIY end rather than STARK's professional contractor focus.
- Bauhaus: Major European DIY and building materials retailer with Danish operations. Comparable product range (building materials, tools, paint, workwear) but skews more B2C/DIY than STARK's professional B2B-heavy mix.
- Silvan: Danish DIY building materials retailer (formerly part of STARK Group, divested 2018). Comparable product mix and store format, but primarily B2C/DIY while STARK is dominated by professional B2B customers.
- Saint-Gobain Distribution: Global building materials giant with Nordic distribution operations (Optimera, now part of Saint-Gobain). Directly comparable in distribution and product categories; STARK Group is in the process of acquiring Saint-Gobain's UK building distribution arm (600+ stores).
Direct peers
- XL-BYG: Danish building materials cooperative with strong B2B and DIY presence across Denmark. Directly comparable to STARK as a multi-store building materials distributor serving professional tradespeople, with overlapping supplier base and similar product categories.
- Optimera: Norwegian/Danish building materials distributor owned by Saint-Gobain. Comparable B2B building materials distribution business serving Nordic professional tradespeople, with overlapping product categories and similar go-to-market model.
- Travis Perkins: UK builders' merchant and the closest pure-play B2B comparator to STARK. Similar business model serving professional tradespeople with branches, tool hire, and a focus on account-based pricing — analogous role in UK market that STARK plays in Denmark.
- Bygma: Danish professional building materials chain owned by Ferguson (UK). Closely comparable to STARK's 85+ store B2B building materials distribution model in Denmark, with similar product mix and professional customer focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Stark social profiles
Digital presenceStark compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
Stark financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stark leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Stark subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries10 records
Stark funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stark M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stark
What does Stark do?
Stark operates as Denmark's largest building materials distributor, supplying professional tradespeople and private self-builders through 85+ physical stores, an e-commerce platform (stark.dk), three distribution centers, and a fleet of 145 trucks. The company sells construction materials, tools, machinery, paint, workwear, electrical, plumbing, and garden supplies, complemented by services such as equipment rental, paint tinting, e-invoicing, and the KlimaLog climate documentation platform.
Is Stark a public or private company?
Stark is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Stark founded?
Stark was founded in 1896. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Stark based?
Stark is headquartered in Viby, Denmark, in the Europe region.
How does Stark make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. B2B Building Materials Sales are the primary driver. The others are B2C Building Materials Sales, workwear Megastore Sales and digital Services & E-commerce.
Who are Stark's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Jem & Fix, Kingfisher, Byggmax, Bauhaus, Silvan and Saint-Gobain Distribution. Direct peers are XL-BYG, Optimera, Travis Perkins and Bygma.
Does Stark have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stark.
What industry is Stark in?
Stark's product category is Building Materials Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAIADAN, Workplace/Jobsite Supplies Retail (Site Consumables, Tarps, Ropes, Chains), with a secondary code of CRAIAEAK, Fasteners, Adhesives & Sealants Retail (Nails, Screws, Glues, Caulks). Its NAICS code is 4237 and its SIC code is 5030.