An unknown quantity

The Munich-based Baywa group, with its DIY and garden stores plus builders’ merchanting business, has more than 700 franchised outlets in Germany, Austria and Italy, making it one of the most significant suppliers in country regions. The company’s franchising partners appear in Germany under the “Baywa” umbrella brand and are serviced by BHSS, a subsidiary firm. AFS serves the franchising partners in Austria under the name of “Unser Lagerhaus”, while in Italy the Bolzen-based IFS offers franchising contracts under the “Tutto Giardino” brand (through Consorzio Agrario, a primary agricultural cooperative). It is a little known fact that Baywa’s franchised line is currently represented just under one hundred times in Italy: 26 times in South Tyrol, four in Trentino, 19 in Veneto, nine in Friuli, six in Lombardy, 24 in Emilia Romagna, six in Piedmont, two in Tuscany and three times in the Marche. And the trend is towards continuing strong growth, says the Munich head office. The national profile is in part bilingual, using German in South Tyrol and Trentino (under the “Gartenmarkt” banner) and Italian in the rest of the country (under the “Tutto Giardino” banner). The product assortment in the branches concentrates on the categories of gardening, clothing, outdoor power equipment, tools, home and garden, pet supplies, specialist agricultural products and fuels. Baywa provides franchisees with the choice of various store formats which differ in size, location, product range and service offer. Stores ranging from 250 m² to 12 000 m² in size are possible for both DIY and garden outlets, and for the builders’ merchant version as well. Unique to Baywa is its “compact” store, which is concentrated on small sales areas and specialist businesses. This concept ensures a local source of supply in regional and rural surroundings. The product range, which is designed as a modular concept, is adapted to the geographic environment and the customers’ regional requirements. This is the system that is most frequently found in Italy as elsewhere. The ranging strategy is geared to the traditional type of DIY customer, to gardening enthusiasts, professional craftsmen and commercial customers. Consequently the brand strategy in the top pricing segment is rounded off by speciality dealer brands that are hardly ever to be found in the normal DIY segment. Download: