Danish flexibility

The Danish home improvement market is practically stagnant as far as growth is concerned. "Therefore it's important to grow by gaining more market share", says Freddy Lauridsen, CEO of Silvan Kæden. The chain opened its 45th store in March; the fourth in this fiscal year which ends on 31 July.
Ideally a Silvan store is approximately 4 000 m² in size: 2 000 m² of sales area both inside and out, including a drive-in or drive-through area for building materials and gardening equipment. However, in reality, there are also numerous smaller stores. The lowest threshold being around 1 500 m².
Silvan Kæden belongs to the DT Group, which in turn belongs to the British Wolseley Group, which regards itself as the world's leading specialist distributor of plumbing and heating products. DT's portfolio is made up of similar distribution channels, such as the brand name builders' merchant, Stark, to name but a few. Therefore, it made sense to coordinate an cooperate in the two stand alone brands in densely populated regions. Meanwhile three, so-called, combi-stores have been created combining both a Silvan and Stark store in smaller cities.
Besides this, the distribution chains within the group also work together. For example, although each subsidiary has its own purchasing department, the purchasers take on some contracts for the respective affiliated companies. People know each other: The management career paths often criss-cross over the whole company group.
Silvan is particularly strong in the typical DIY ranges like  building materials, plumbing, paint and electric installations. An important area is the removal sector with everything the customer needs to plan a move, including the possibility to hire vehicles.

However, when asked what the most important product range is, Silvan's CEO Freddy Lauridsen says the garden sector - and in Denmark, according to his experience, it's not just for women. "It is of interest for everybody in Denmark that they have a nice garden - whether it's a small balcony or a large garden surrounding the whole house", says Lauridsen. "It's a way for people to show: It's nice where we live." 
A Silvan store has around 13 000 SKUs. Its own brand share of sales is somewhere between 20 to 25 per cent - and is rising. "The…