Prominent speakers in Madrid

The programme for the 3rd European Home Improvement Forum due to take place in Madrid on 5 and 6 June 2014 has been finalized. Special guests Pablo Zalba, MEP, Andreas Lippert (sales director merchant development, Ebay), Petri Kokko (sales director retail, Google) and Matthias Setzer (senior director merchant services, Paypal) are all on the list of speakers that has been unveiled by the organisers, Fediyma and Edra.
There will be other speakers as well. These will include Régis Degelcke (VP Groupe Adeo and chairman of Edra), Paul Loft (managing director Homebase), Berndt Ringhofer (global sales director Henkel), Erwin van Osta (CEO Hubo and president Bricoalliance) and, finally, Pablo de la Torre (CEO Bricor – El Corte Inglès). It will be the first time that Albrecht Hornbach (CEO Hornbach Holding) has agreed to appear at any industry congress.
“Mobile commerce – get intimate with the consumer” is the motto of the congress. Managers from companies such as the Ebeltoft Group, Butlers, Rakuten, OC&C, GfK, Javelin Group, Brand Trust, KPMG and Nexage will be expressing their views on this subject.

On the schedule once again is a store tour planned for 4 June, the day before the congress begins. The tour will be conducted by John W. Herbert, general secretary Edra. It is designed to introduce delegates to the industry’s newest home improvement retail trends in the greater Madrid area, and will be stopping off at Leroy Merlin, Bricomart, Bricodepot, Garden Center Verdecor and Bricor. On the same day the schedule will also include five workshops on up-to-date topics ahead of the evening get-together.
One of the congress highlights will be the presentation of the European DIY-Lifetime award to Ray Colman, the long-time chief executive officer of Woodie’s DIY in Ireland. The ceremony will take place on 5 June at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, the Spanish capital, where the gala dinner planned for the congress is being held. The laudatory speech will be made by Carl Otto Løvenskiold, CEO and proprietor of Løvenskiold-Vaekerø AS, Norway.
Fediyma and Edra, the European manufacturers’ and DIY retail associations organising the congress, are expecting a total of over 600 delegates, which means the previous years’ figures will be exceeded…