Brico turns Leroy Merlin into Brico Plan-It

Speculation has been going on for quite some time that Brico – Belgium’s leading DIY retail group with over a hundred outlets, which has been part of the Dutch Vendex KBB group since 2002 – had plans to hand for livening up the market with an entirely new retail format. The basic conditions for doing so were ideal with the acquisition of the Castorama store covering a good 8 000 m² in Pottelberg, Kortrijk, as well as the six Leroy Merlin outlets.
The first Brico Plan-It opened in a former Castorama store in Kortrijk.
“Brico Plan-It is not a revolutionary new concept,” comments Peter van Bakkum, spokesman for Vendex KBB, “but a logical further development of the existing DIY store concept. It was worked out by Plan-It employees (formerly Leroy Merlin), with the addition of elements from Brico and Briko Dépot.”
The product range in the area of decoration is huge.
Brico (111 outlets in Belgium) regards itself more as a local supplier, whereas Brico Plan-It is intended to be a genuine “destination store”, with a range that is both deep and wide, and specialisation in complete projects. Which is the reason behind the emphasis put on the building materials drive-in and the large product offer in the categories of decoration, lighting, plumbing, tiles and timber-based materials. Another striking feature is the increased presence of sales staff in the aisles.
Brico Plan-It offers a product assortment that is both broad and deep.
It stands to reason that Brico Plan-It and Brico are pursuing the goal of making as much use as possible of synergy effects, whether in the areas of buying, logistics, administration or information. However, the two formats appear to customers to be totally independent and different, each with its own – complementary – product offer. Both retail formats have their own corporate policy, work economically independent of each other and determine their marketing mix for themselves as well.
The development towards an obviously expanded product assortment and extended floorspace is nothing new: it is actually almost a general trend in the do-it-yourself market. Over and above this, clarity in the store was increased by a more streamlined structuring of the ranges at Brico Plan-It. This was achieved partly by division into zones, e.g. “technology” and “decoration” zones.
The new retail format sees itself as a problem-solver for complete projects.
A “Summer projects” brochure was used to launch a promotional campaign for a limited period, which shows where…