The first step?

Straßwalchen in the Austrian state of Salzburg is intended to be a signal if things go the way intended by the Hellweg management in Dortmund. With no store opening for a good 15 years, Hellweg – Ihr Baufreund now wants to expand again in Austria as well. A first step in this direction was taken on 17 June with the opening in Straßwalchen in Flachgau. Yet Austria shows itself to be one of the most intensely competitive DIY retail markets in the world. Here the DIY store density is even greater than in Germany, the profit margins even slimmer. Anyone hoping to succeed in Austria must have an extremely sophisticated concept. Branch manager Herbert Posch and his team of 30 consider they are well prepared for the regional competition at any rate. Locally the store presents itself in the community of 7 000 souls as the dominant force, while the small Raiffeisen store there does not carry all that much weight by comparison. The store’s catchment area is strongly agricultural, stretching as it does from the northern Salzkammergut right over to the Innviertel. This DIY and garden store is modern in design and features a retail area of 7 000 m². Built in around four months, it offers a great deal of space for a range of products and services that is completely in line with the needs and requirements of the region. The size of the store and its customer routing system are well geared to the clientele that is expected to shop there. Among the special highlights in the Straßwalchen Hellweg store are a large bathroom display and a creative paint centre, plus a timber department with a laminate and parquet studio. The garden centre, too, presents a spacious layout on an area of around 1 800 m². Currently Hellweg has a total of 88 DIY stores in operation in Austria and Germany. “Baufreund” has belonged to Hellweg since 1994. It has seven stores in Austria with a retail area of 37 000 m² and approximately 200 employees. Annual sales in Austria came to approx. € 25 mio in 2010. Downlaod: