Cherchez la femme

Manfred Maus, the founder of German market leader Obi, has handed down a certain pronouncement: “I love women”. Not one of his speeches has ever been without this sentence. The rationale: “They are my best customers.” What the legendary European DIY pioneer knew early on has long been common knowledge: women represent an enormously important target group for the DIY business and even more for the garden segment, both as paying customers and as decision- makers who determine how their household budget is used. It goes without saying that they are experienced DIYers and gardeners as well. However, this perception seems to be having scarcely any effect on the personnel policy of the DIY retailers’ head offices. If women are so attractive as customers, why aren’t they equally so as managers? Why does management believe that male buyers, store planners and marketing bosses are more capable of understanding and foreseeing what female decision-makers are likely to choose? Not even when it comes to the topic of gardens do a majority of women make decisions on product assortment, presentation and marketing. Wouldn’t female decision-makers in crucial positions within the retail trade be a strategic advantage? Of course there are women at the top management level of the DIY companies, too. But you still have to look hard to find them. The same is also true of the 2nd European Home Improvement Forum at the end of May. Due to speak there on new design trends is Véronique Laury, commercial director of B&Q, together with Mariann Wenckheim, partner and director at 20.20 Strategic Design Company. Typically perhaps, yet another of the total of four speakers in the “Design” theme block is a woman, in fact it is Judy Coo, designer and colour consultant. With that the female contribution to this congress is pretty well exhausted. Making an appearance as the only other woman speaker from the total of almost 30 (!) will be Anna Maria Corazza, a member of the EU parliament. Her topic: “A more efficient and fairer retail market.” A failure of Old Europe? What do they say to that in the United States, the home of DIY? In its newsletter the IHA, an international federation of hardware associations that is headquartered in the USA, strongly advises members “to court female customers”. They are after all the “heads of households”. It also says that the dealers should further extend their range of homewares and gifts, or at least include more cleaning products in their offer. Is…