Quality competition invigorates the market

During his address, Albrecht Hornbach found words of encouragement on the subject of competition in the Netherlands: “The connection between Hornbach and the sector in the Netherlands is good for the market. High-quality competition strengthens rather than weakens the industry.”
Corporate philosophy
In order to bring about an understanding of the German DIY retailer’s growth plans, the chairman explained the company’s philosophy. “First of all we gear ourselves completely to jobs that are done by DIYers and even
by demanding professional craftsmen. In addition, our image is determined by range, efficiency, location, size and product selection. Our customers determine our success. Despite this, we act like a medium-sized company and are just as flexible.”
In Germany Hornbach has proved itself able to deal with competition and to survive it as well. The company knows how to hold its own by means of efficiency in all areas. “Efficiency is customer-friendly. The money that we save is our customers’ money. All benefits are for our customers’ good. We have to see to it that our customers have confidence in us. And we have to make DIY easy for them. This includes aspects such as sufficient parking, short waiting times at the checkout, and a consistent pricing policy. Which does not mean special offers. We have attractive prices every day.”
Healthy expansion
Nowadays Hornbach achieves 40 per cent of its sales abroad. This includes the eight stores in the Netherlands, where Hornbach sees potential for further expansion in the future. The aim is to have 15 stores by the year 2010, but the competition is seizing every available opportunity to hold up the building projects. Albrecht Hornbach: “Two or three lawyers are preoccupied with this subject every day. I should like to stress most emphatically that we do not treat our competitors like this, not in Germany, not anywhere. Competition is good, for customers as well. What is more, we have a positive influence on the job market. Employees are the basis of our company, and cooperation with our suppliers is based on partnership. Our growth is also to their advantage. Our objective is to encourage growth of the market as a whole, which makes us into bona fide competitors. We should like to achieve that through a symbiosis of the characteristic features of Dutch and German football: creativity and willingness to work, in combination with enthusiasm and stamina. Though better not to think in terms of “national teams”: we are a…