A green alternative

Environmental conservation is the concern of the market leader in Switzerland – where the biggest company has been making a green name for itself for quite some time now. With a total of 75 stores Coop Bau + Hobby, the DIY division of the Coop retail group, is well positioned to set the trends. The company introduced its own “Oecoplan” label as far back as 1989, originally for ecological packaging and products. Then in 1998 the Coop defined its requirements more precisely and, since that time, has offered under Oecoplan and the slogan “For the green alternative” non-food products and services “with ecological added value” as stated in the sustainability report of the Coop Group. There are already 1 500 Oecoplan articles in the household and stationery category, which is of relevance to Bau + Hobby. In addition some 400 garden products are also marketed under this label. The requirement profile for this range is geared to international and national environmental quality marks; if none exists, the company develops its own standards in cooperation with testing institutions. Coop naturally links ecology in the DIY store with economy in the cost/benefit calculation. “Our intention here is quite clear: to increase turnover,” explained Dr Christoph Theler, director of category management at Coop Bau + Hobby, when he addressed the delegates at last year’s specialist garden store congress organised by the BHB, a German trade association. Having recorded sales of Oecoplan products to the tune of CHF 117 mio throughout the Coop Group in 2010, last year’s total came to CHF 120 mio. Some CHF 50 mio of this stemmed from the DIY sales channel. From the Coop’s viewpoint, that could certainly be more if the manufacturers would only go along with them. At any rate, Theler appealed to them to develop more products of this kind: “I am amazed at how little initiative is coming from suppliers in the green area.” Altogether Bau + Hobby recorded gross sales of approx. CHF 742 mio in 2010 and expects to maintain or slightly improve that level, despite the difficult economic situation. Within the group the DIY distribution channel occupies a special position in terms of efforts to protect the climate. This is because a great number of DIY store ranges are products that are used for energy-saving renovating work. ”Sustainability and, above all, saving energy are of strategic significance at Bau + Hobby,” the company stresses in a dossier published in the autumn. This strategic…