BHB congress emphasises the opportunities

"It wasn't the turnaround we were all expecting after all" – with these words, Peter Tepaß, spokesperson for the BHB board of directors, looked back on the year that is coming to an end in his opening dialogue with BHB managing director Peter Wüst to kick off the two-day congress of the German DIY industry in Bonn today, organised by the industry association BHB. And Wüst pointed out from his talks the previous evening that "2025 will also just be a year of perseverance". Nevertheless, the association's leaders also see positive signals. "Retail space will be a decisive factor," said Tepaß, speaking in favour of investment. He called on suppliers to work together with retailers and industry to lead the industry to the top in terms of sustainability. And Wüst emphasised: "We are surrounded by opportunities."

The first item on the programme after the introduction was dedicated to the topic of regulation - which prompted Dr. Eva Stüber, Managing Director of IFH Cologne, who stepped in at short notice as a speaker, to comment: "My goodness - they're opening the congress with bureaucracy. Help!" She and her co-speaker Christian Kramer from Kreditreform emphasised that this also offers opportunities – among other things, for an association like the BHB to get involved in the drafting of laws in Brussels and Berlin at an early stage. The industry should use the occasion "that we have to deal with sustainability to get involved in the design".

The approximately 450 participants at the congress were extremely encouraged by the presentation of Michael Busch, managing partner of the Herder Thalia book group. He showed how his company successfully defended itself against the threat from online retail, especially from Amazon. "Covid has made us much, much stronger," he reported. Because in this crisis, the company has learned to keep the customer in its own ecosystem across all channels. The company is now the largest bookseller in Europe and the second largest in the world. Its big advantage: its brick-and-mortar stores. "We are at war with Amazon," he said bluntly. "We want to show the rest of the world that Amazon can be pushed back – in the industry where it all started."