The hour of proximity

She is an institution in the French DIY and garden trade scene: Marie-José Nicol, long-standing chief editor of the French trade journal Bricomag, knows everyone, whether they are from the manufacturing or trade camp, and everyone knows her. This definitely has nothing to do with the fact that she likes to wear a very noticeable style of clothing as unmistakable trademark, but it is rather to do with her intensive presence on the market.
Not only the monthly journal Bricomag is meant here, but also the "Table Ronde" series of events: at the round table traders, manufacturers and service providers openly discuss current topics, challenges and - yes, that too - problems which the market players frequently have with each other.
Because this event format is so well received in the industry, there are even four of them: Table Ronde Bricolage (do-it-yourself), jardin (garden), négoce-pro (builders' merchants) and Qofi (specialist stores for hardware, tools, industrial equipment).
Even though the round of talks - the seating positions are arranged in a U - initially appears to be very much directed towards its host, the 30 to 40 participants are able to have very intensive exchanges with each other for an entire day.
The Table Ronde Bricolage, this year at the end of April in Paris, was particularly special: the event celebrated its 10th anniversary. A birthday cake was brought out in the lunch break to celebrate.
However Marie-José Nicol didn't have to blow out all ten candles by herself. She had also invited Reinhard Wolff to the anniversary event. The German is not only active as entrepreneur and owner of the Wolfcraft tool manufacturer on the French market; he is also president of Fediyma, the European association of manufacturers.
The palette of topics which are discussed during a Table Ronde is very widely spread. This year, apart from an overview of the French and international industry developments, current topics on the agenda were the return of the local supplier formats and smart home, but also a few hot potatoes like the relationship between manufacturer and trader including the market concentration and the role of the manufacturer in the cross-channel trade.
There were heated discussions at the 10th Table Ronde Bricolage about the invitation to tender practice. The battle lines are clearly drawn: while the traders use this instrument to gain lower purchase prices, many manufactures see it as the death of innovation. And of course, as can be expected, when…