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At the start of the 10th Global DIY Summit yesterday, a group of 350 congress participants learned about the Italian home improvement market. They took advantage of the store tour offered by the organizers - the international associations Edra/Ghin and Hima - the day before the actual congress of the international DIY industry.
The Italian company Bricofer presented a very Italian format to visitors from all over the world. At the 2 550 m² location in Via Collatina, the company is testing a local supplier concept with a large food and drugstore range. The company, which recently generated annual sales of EUR 265 mio with 105 locations - many of which are in the 1 000 to 1 500 m² size category - attaches great importance to reacting flexibly to local conditions.
The store tour participants also took a close look at the Tecnomat concept with great interest. This sales division of the French Adeo Group is clearly geared towards professionals, but nevertheless generates around 40 per cent of its sales with end consumers. The visited 9 225 m² site also includes a 3 225 m² building materials area with a drive-in. The 280 00 SKUs are presented on the high shelves. This sales division, which was launched in 2008 under the Bricoman brand, has 31 stores in Italy.
Adeo also owns the Leroy Merlin sales division, which is represented in Italy with 52 stores and recently generated net sales of EUR 1.893 bn. The congress participants visited the Porta di Roma location, which is in the immediate vicinity of an Ikea store. This DIY chain, which is not only represented in Europe, works with many installation examples in the presentation of its 36 000 articles.
At Obi's Casilina site, the participants were not only greeted by the beaver, the German chain's mascot; the Italian management had organised a real guided tour of the store. Among other things, the new concept of a Welcome Desk at the entrance to the store was presented, which is designed to be the first point of contact for customers and their questions in the design of the Mach Bar that has just been rolled out in Germany. Another of the several stations in the store was the Posa Pro project area and service, which provides customers with complete services including installation. The German parent company is also responsible for the garden concept under the name “Gartenparadies”, which places a greater emphasis on plants than other Italian DIY stores.
A visit to Eataly should allow participants to think outside the box of DIY stores. This chain, with an annual turnover of EUR 656 mio and locations worldwide, focuses entirely on Italian food.
