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1st European Home Improvement Forum, Vienna
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The new chessboard after the crisis
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From the North to the South Pole, from chemistry to art and from profitability to sustainability, innovation was the watchword for this inaugural Forum and the speakers were certainly innovative in their presentations. The 1st European Home Improvement Forum, hosted in Vienna last month by EDRA and fediyma, gave the DIY and Home Improvement retailers and suppliers an insight into the future of the industry.
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"The new chessboard after the crisis" was the chosen theme for the first cooperative event between EDRA (the European DIY-Retail Association) and fediyma (the Federation of DIY Manufacturers), hosted in association with the Conference Group. With 320 top executives in the industry, including 24 CEOs, the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious providing the perfect setting for networking and establishing business opportunities between the retailers and the suppliers.
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The mood of the event was set by the tangible rapport between the two presidents, Régis Degelcke (EDRA, Vice CEO Groupe ADEO) and Reinhard Wolff (fediyma, Managing Partner wolfcraft GmbH), who demonstrated their close working relationship during the introduction and during the panel discussion. For the debate they were joined by Ian Cheshire (Group CEO, Kingfisher), Hartmut Jenner (Chairman of the Management Board, Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG) and were skilfully chaired by Thierry Coeman (Managing Director, retail dynamics). The panel discussion picked up on some important issues including cross-merchandising, industry data and customer insights, in addition to post-crisis investment in innovation.
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Innovation's central role in home improvement businesses was emphasised by Martin Goetzeler (Chairman of the Board, Osram), who highlighted the company's two Oscars for films utilising Osram products, and by Dr. Jack Truong (Vice President and General Manager, 3M Construction and Home Improvement Division) who outlined the 3M policy of giving all staff 15% of their time to "be creative". Truong reinforced the 3M values, "Innovation is looking at the same thing as everyone else but thinking differently", and delivered an almost magic trick-like demonstration of 3M adhesives.
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Ian Cheshire described the five current trends in home improvement retail that Kingfisher is focussing on. Innovation was again a central theme, in addition to fashion, do-it-for me, multichannel-retail and eco issues. The particular importance of the last point was reinforced by Kingfisher's Director of Corporate Responsibility and Government Affairs, Ray Baker, who outlined the company's 'Future homes strategy', which, whilst driven by business objectives, is fundamentally about sustainability issues.
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Kingfisher's environmental credentials were corroborated earlier this month when they received the Sir Peter Parker Award, which recognises and rewards companies that protect and enhance the environment without compromising on business performance, at the Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards. Baker left the audience with the indelible statistic, "if the world were to consume resources at the same rate as the UK, we would need three Earths".
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Due care of our planet was also central to Robert Swan's presentation. Swan is a polar explorer, environmental leader and the only man to have walked to both the South and North Poles, during which he has seen first-hand the effects of the hole in the ozone layer. However his core theme was the importance of leadership. With the take-home message of "sustainable inspiration", he emphasised a manager's responsibility to continually inspire staff in order to motivate them and facilitate their ability to reach their potential. A brilliant presentation met with thunderous applause.
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Sergio Giroldi (CEO, OBI AG) turned the theme of the Forum on its head suggesting we should not be thinking about the black and white chequers of a chessboard. Instead it should be the black and white of the chequered flag as businesses race to adapt to the new global situation. Giroldi made some very insightful and thought-provoking points, stressing that e-business is the future of modern retailing and discussed how retailers and suppliers must find new ways of working together.
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The Forum was preceded by a store tour hosted by Hans-Jörg Greimel (bauMax Board Member) and an industry get-together at the Essl Museum, owned by Martin Essl (CEO, bauMax AG) and family. The store tour incorporated visits to bauMax, OBI, Hornbach and Bauhaus and was an excellent opportunity not only to check out the retailers assortments and store systems but also to kick off the networking that was central to the Forum. The get-together at the Essl Museum in the evening continued the networking opportunity whilst providing a unique insight into this privately owned museum of modern art, giving inspiration to the guests from an unlikely source.
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The absolute highlight of the event was the 1st European DIY Lifetime Award presented to Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, the man who built Kingfisher, for his contribution to the Home Improvement Industry. Sir Geoffrey joined what is now Kingfisher in 1982, first as Group Finance Director, then as Group Managing Director. During this time he was instrumental in the reorganisation and expansion of the Group and its subsequent major development in the UK and internationally, overseeing an increase in market capitalisation from £105m in 1982 to over £5bn when he stepped down in November 2002.
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Due to Sir Geoffrey's influence, Kingfisher has grown to be one of Europe's leading retailing groups, with annual turnover of £10.5bn from 830 outlets in 8 countries. Manfred Maus, long-time acquaintance of Sir Geoffrey and founder of OBI, gave an excellent laudatory speech and the award was presented by Otmar Hornbach, founder of the Hornbach DIY chain.
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The 1st European Home Improvement Forum brought retailers and suppliers together for the first time in this setting. Whilst the interests of the two groups are quite different, these meetings can only benefit the relationships going forward and despite being in tough competition with one another it is essential that the playing field is fair. The extremely positive feedback about the event was very encouraging so whilst this was the 1st Forum, it definitely won't be the last.
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