“Dissociation from megastores”

A new centrally organised system is making an appearance in the German DIY and garden marketplace. Two voluntary groups, EK Servicegroup and EDE, are pooling their retail activities in this area to form a joint subsidiary company, Euro-DIY. The company services some 500 independent specialist traders and mainly relatively small specialist stores in Germany and neighbouring countries. Euro-DIY is headed by Fred Ströter, 43, in combination with Hans-Jürgen Adorf and Dr Christoph Grote of the parent company EDE. Ströter came to the company from the head office of Obi. He advocates a concept of “dissociation from megastores through individuality, quality and expertise”. It provides modular solutions for floorspaces of around 400 m² and 600 m² and an elective range module for 500 m². The newly drafted Werkmarkt concept is the central component of the system. This trading brand was previously used by Zeus, which however now belongs wholly to Hagebau.