Leroy Merlin is a chain of DIY stores originally from France that deals in DIY and gardening products. The chain is part of the Groupe ADEO. In 1923, Adolphe Leroy and Rose Merlin, both children of middle-class farmers and future husbands, set up the Au stock Américain store in Nœux-les-Mines, where they sold American army equipment left in northern France after World War I. They soon found that there was a great demand for these items, and that the store was a good place to start. They soon noticed a great demand for building materials, which they supplied in the form of dismantled army barracks, and for decorative items. When they started to specialize in these, the construction market was born. In 1960, the name of the chain was changed to "Leroy Merlin", after the surnames of the two founders. In 1989, the chain opened its first store in Spain and its first international expansion became a reality. Since 2009, the chain has been the market leader in France. In 2010, the company had a global turnover of 12.8 billion euros.