Meeting place for the DIY world

From the programme, the 1st Global DIY Summit 2011 promises to be a high-calibre event. EDRA, the European DIY Retail Association, and FEDIYMA, the Federation of European DIY Manufacturers, in association with the Global Home Improvement Network, are inviting delegates to Brussels on 8 and 9 June 2011 to attend the event, which will be the meeting place for the DIY scene from all over the world. Participants and speakers from the top management echelons of DIY retail groups and suppliers, not only from Europe but also from overseas, have announced their intention to attend. “There will be 40 to 50 CEOs from all round the world in Brussels,” says John Herbert, general secretary of EDRA. Representatives will be there from companies such as Home Depot and Lowe’s in the United States, and Rona in Canada. Participants will also travel to Brussels from South America, Australia and Asia. After all, “One World – What will shape the future of home improvement worldwide?” is the theme of the congress. The overall level of registrations is very good from the organisers’ point of view. “I am assuming that we’ll have a full house,” says Herbert. Retailers in particular are demonstrating an unexpectedly strong interest, and he expects that the manufacturing side will display a massive presence: “We’ve already had a great number of enquiries about the accompanying exhibition, Global DIY 2011.” The organisers are especially proud of the winner of the 1st Global DIY Lifetime Award: Pat Farrah, one of the founders of Home Depot. The presentation ceremony will take place during a gala dinner, which will be one of the highlights of the conference. The list of speakers includes a great number of company heads from both industry and commerce. For example, Gregory M. Bridge-ford, executive vice president of Lowe’s, and Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher, are both due to address the delegates. Other speakers will be George Adams of Maxeda, Sandro Solari of Sodimac, Michael Wedgwood of Bunnings and Stefan Hartung of Bosch. The special guest invited to the event is mathematician and economist Prof. Dr Dr Franz Josef Radermacher, a member of the Club of Rome. Patrick G. Farrah… …is regarded as a visionary in the retail field. Originally he established his own large-format Homeco, before joining Home Depot in 1978. Having left the company in the early nineties, he returned once again in 1996 before finally retiring from the business several years later. Download: