DIY Market

Steve spent today helping a supplier find a new source for production in Poland. They also had time to visit the largest Leroy Merlin store in Europe.

ADEO is Europe’s largest DIY retailer with over 900 stores, several formats and operating under several banners including Leroy Merlin, Aki, Weldom and BricoMan.
Their 3 year old corporate headquarters is right out of the future. 1000 people work in the building, it uses no external heat or electricity and is nearly fully automated.

Well, it took a good 30 seconds to figure out where I was waking up this morning but once the jet lag cobwebs cleared, I found myself in Wermelskirchen, Germany (home of OBI) beginning another week of meetings with a Presidents Council member and leading European DIY retailers.

OBI is Europe’s original Home Center. They added 60 stores in 3 weeks at the end of 2015 taking over many former BAUMAX locations in Austria. Today they are Germany’s largest DIY chain operating 589 stores in Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Bosnia, Czech Republic, Russia and Switzerland with an annual turnover of around $5.3 Billion USD.

Together with our Council Member today finds us in Stockholm, Sweden meeting with BYGGMAX. They’re a very interesting retail operation. The store format is typical of a Pro Dealer but according to the purchasing director, 80% of their sales come from homeowners rather than contractors. Apparently, the Swedish people are perfectly comfortable taking on very large DIY projects themselves. He claims they can build their own house!

BYGGMAX operates 119 stores in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Annual revenue is around $420 Million USD.

I was really hoping for some parking lot Swedish meatballs or something but no such luck. Maybe it was way, way too cold!

Steve skipped breakfast in anticipation of another parking lot wurst and was left with an empty belly due to a closed up kiosk at the store. He is looking forward to finding out tomorrow what the Swedish serve in the DIY parking lots! Stay tuned.

After decades of tailgating at Lambeau Field, I consider myself a connoisseur of parking lot cuisine. Today, while doing some in-store research at Germany’s largest DIY retailer, I found myself needing a bratwurst cooked standing on asphalt.

It was a good bratwurst and excellent mustard. Cooked over real coals in the parking lot kiosk. The roll got a little soggy with the rain but the double napkin saved the experience.

In Bornheim bei Landau Germany today at the Hornbach corporate headquarters for a follow-up meeting with a President Council member and an old friend who runs the import department.

HORNBACH operates 146 stores in 9 European countries with around $3.7 Billion annual sales. They are privately owned and the stores are very large warehouse format.

Steve is spending the day helping a Presidents Council member sell into Stark in Lahti, Finland. Stark has 38 stores in Finland and another 92 in Denmark with annual sales of around $1.5 Billion USD. They are a traditional home center format although around 80% of their sales come from the professional / contractor customer.
Stark is owned by the DT Group out of Denmark. Together with Beijer, Neumann Bygg and Silvan the group’s annual sales is around $2.5 Bil USD.
We visited the Stark headquarters in Lahti as well as one of their stores recently rebranded from “Starkki” after completion of an acquisition of a smaller pro dealer.