Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
Beijer Byggmaterial, Sweden’s largest DIY and building materials chain, consciously targeted end consumers in the nineties in order to build up its DIY business
The company has changed over the years through being shaped by the world around it and the people working for it.
G. Beijer was founded at Malmö in 1866 as a trading company mainly importing cereals, coal, iron, metals and chemicals which were distributed on a local basis. In 1894 a branch office was founded in Stockholm. The company also began with the distribution of solid fuels in Sweden in parallel to the import business.
When structural change came in the mid-sixties the company concentrated on the area of building materials, which had long been a component part of its business.
In 1970 the final steps were taken to create the Beijer Byggmaterial chain. Electrolux bought up all the Beijer Byggmaterial AB shares 15 years later. This was the start of a period of intensive acquisitions and structural rationalisation, which finally shaped the company as it is today.
In 1989 the Danish company Det Danske Trælastcompagnie A/S, with a business very similar to Beijer’s, bought up all the shares in Beijer Byggmaterial AB.
Measures targeted towards increasing the proportion of sales made to end consumers – the DIY segment — were introduced in 1993/94. The goal was then, and still is, to generate one third of total turnover from big, national building contractors, one third from smaller firms and one third from individual customers.
Christer Bengtsson, managing director of Beijer, says that the company is really flourishing on this concept. About 8 000 articles are stocked by a typical store. However, in comparison with many European DIY and building materials chains, Beijer concentrates on tools and building-related products, apart from a small range of seasonal articles. Great effort has gone into providing environment-friendly products and the number of such products is increasing rapidly.
Beijer offers individual customers its “Blue Thumb” club with more than 70 000 members. Membership is free and members are entitled to special prices as well as theme evenings held in-store with specialist advice from professionals. Added to this is a magazine that comes out four times a year and is full of helpful hints for the DIYer. These measures have enabled Beijer to win over a large number of loyal individual customers.
Today Beijer operates 37 stores in Sweden, from Luleå in the north to Malmö in the south. Each store on average has an indoor retail space of about 900 m² and an outdoor area of 8 000 m². The 1999 turnover came to 316.1 Mio euro (SKR 2 840 Mio). Bengtsson expects the figure to be higher for the current year, since the number of new building projects has risen over previous years.
Information coming from company headquarters in Bromma states that there are no plans for expansion at the moment. Existing stores are sufficient to provide good coverage of the areas that are geographically interesting.
G. Beijer was founded at Malmö in 1866 as a trading company mainly importing cereals, coal, iron, metals and chemicals which were distributed on a local basis. In 1894 a branch office was founded in Stockholm. The company also began with the distribution of solid fuels in Sweden in parallel to the import business.
When structural change came in the mid-sixties the company concentrated on the area of building materials, which had long been a component part of its business.
In 1970 the final steps were taken to create the Beijer Byggmaterial chain. Electrolux bought up all the Beijer Byggmaterial AB shares 15 years later. This was the start of a period of intensive acquisitions and structural rationalisation, which finally shaped the company as it is today.
In 1989 the Danish company Det Danske Trælastcompagnie A/S, with a business very similar to Beijer’s, bought up all the shares in Beijer Byggmaterial AB.
Measures targeted towards increasing the proportion of sales made to end consumers – the DIY segment — were introduced in 1993/94. The goal was then, and still is, to generate one third of total turnover from big, national building contractors, one third from smaller firms and one third from individual customers.
Christer Bengtsson, managing director of Beijer, says that the company is really flourishing on this concept. About 8 000 articles are stocked by a typical store. However, in comparison with many European DIY and building materials chains, Beijer concentrates on tools and building-related products, apart from a small range of seasonal articles. Great effort has gone into providing environment-friendly products and the number of such products is increasing rapidly.
Beijer offers individual customers its “Blue Thumb” club with more than 70 000 members. Membership is free and members are entitled to special prices as well as theme evenings held in-store with specialist advice from professionals. Added to this is a magazine that comes out four times a year and is full of helpful hints for the DIYer. These measures have enabled Beijer to win over a large number of loyal individual customers.
Today Beijer operates 37 stores in Sweden, from Luleå in the north to Malmö in the south. Each store on average has an indoor retail space of about 900 m² and an outdoor area of 8 000 m². The 1999 turnover came to 316.1 Mio euro (SKR 2 840 Mio). Bengtsson expects the figure to be higher for the current year, since the number of new building projects has risen over previous years.
Information coming from company headquarters in Bromma states that there are no plans for expansion at the moment. Existing stores are sufficient to provide good coverage of the areas that are geographically interesting.
