Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
Just in time for the opening of this year’s DIY & Garden Show in London came the announcement that a rival event is being planned for next year
The BHHMA (British Hardware & Housewares Manufacturers’ Association) is currently organising a new event called Exclusively DIY, which will take place in London in June 2005.
Whether there is room for a second DIY exhibition in the UK market is another matter. The tenth DIY & Garden Show, which was held at Earls Court in London from 18 to 20 January, certainly went extremely well. Show director Christopher Leonard-Morgan said he was delighted with the quality of visitors to the show and the results of the first DIY Industry Forum: “A quick scan down the list of companies attending the show proves that its timing and location really suit the key buyers, and we’re delighted with the spread of names, not just from across the UK industry but from the whole of Europe.
We now have a lot of work to do, preparing for next year when there is no Practical World in Cologne and no clash with the lighting and furniture shows in Birmingham. Given its New Year timing and central London location, next year’s DIY & Garden Show will be a vital platform for the European DIY industry and our challenge will be to ensure that the exhibition continues to develop its role as an inclusive forum for the whole industry.”
The DIY & Garden Show in London regards itself as a platform for the DIY industry in Europe.
At the show to attend the DIY Industry Forum were senior figures from the industry, including Focus Wickes chairman Bill Archer and Jim Lowe, strategic, research and special projects director at Focus Wickes, and over 100 other participants. A meeting of EDRA (the European DIY Retailers’ Association) also took place at the show.
The DIY Industry Forum, sponsored by Mintel, put representatives of Europe’s two biggest DIY retailers on the same bill when speakers Manfred Maus, chairman of Obi, and Ian Cheshire, chief executive international and development at Kingfisher, gave participants their views on DIY retailing in the future.
Both B&Q and Obi are set to escalate their overseas expansion in the coming years. Obi is considering a number of Asian markets including India, Vietnam and Korea, all of which might offer better prospects than the still depressed domestic market in Germany. The company also intends to develop further its existing Russian and Chinese operations. It plans to have 100 stores in China and 50 in Russia.
The appeal of the Asian markets also featured in the contribution of the Kingfisher spokesman. The company already has plans to open its first stores in Korea during 2004. It is also looking at countries such as India and Thailand. The company, which already has 14 stores in China, says it will have 60 more by 2008.
The dates for next year’s event have already been fixed: the DIY & Garden Show will run from 16 to 18 January 2005 at Earls Court 2 in London.
Speakers at the DIY Industry Forum (from left): Ian Cheshire (Kingfisher), Richard Perks (Mintel) and Manfred Maus (Obi) with show director Christopher Leonard-Morgan.
Whether there is room for a second DIY exhibition in the UK market is another matter. The tenth DIY & Garden Show, which was held at Earls Court in London from 18 to 20 January, certainly went extremely well. Show director Christopher Leonard-Morgan said he was delighted with the quality of visitors to the show and the results of the first DIY Industry Forum: “A quick scan down the list of companies attending the show proves that its timing and location really suit the key buyers, and we’re delighted with the spread of names, not just from across the UK industry but from the whole of Europe.
We now have a lot of work to do, preparing for next year when there is no Practical World in Cologne and no clash with the lighting and furniture shows in Birmingham. Given its New Year timing and central London location, next year’s DIY & Garden Show will be a vital platform for the European DIY industry and our challenge will be to ensure that the exhibition continues to develop its role as an inclusive forum for the whole industry.”
The DIY & Garden Show in London regards itself as a platform for the DIY industry in Europe.
At the show to attend the DIY Industry Forum were senior figures from the industry, including Focus Wickes chairman Bill Archer and Jim Lowe, strategic, research and special projects director at Focus Wickes, and over 100 other participants. A meeting of EDRA (the European DIY Retailers’ Association) also took place at the show.
The DIY Industry Forum, sponsored by Mintel, put representatives of Europe’s two biggest DIY retailers on the same bill when speakers Manfred Maus, chairman of Obi, and Ian Cheshire, chief executive international and development at Kingfisher, gave participants their views on DIY retailing in the future.
Both B&Q and Obi are set to escalate their overseas expansion in the coming years. Obi is considering a number of Asian markets including India, Vietnam and Korea, all of which might offer better prospects than the still depressed domestic market in Germany. The company also intends to develop further its existing Russian and Chinese operations. It plans to have 100 stores in China and 50 in Russia.
The appeal of the Asian markets also featured in the contribution of the Kingfisher spokesman. The company already has plans to open its first stores in Korea during 2004. It is also looking at countries such as India and Thailand. The company, which already has 14 stores in China, says it will have 60 more by 2008.
The dates for next year’s event have already been fixed: the DIY & Garden Show will run from 16 to 18 January 2005 at Earls Court 2 in London.
Speakers at the DIY Industry Forum (from left): Ian Cheshire (Kingfisher), Richard Perks (Mintel) and Manfred Maus (Obi) with show director Christopher Leonard-Morgan.
