Very European French

The digital conquest of the European DIY market may possibly be made from France. There Mano Mano, the company which was only founded in 2012, is making headlines by already expanding into five neighbouring countries. This online marketplace is not only active in France, but also in Belgium, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, and since October, also in Germany.
But is this what Europe has been waiting for? "We believe that customers consider three fundamental criteria for such a marketplace: price, assortment and advice," says Christian Raisson, who founded the company together with Philippe de Chanville and now manages it. "And we are adding a fourth: specialisation." All the others, especially Amazon, are generalists. Raisson is convinced, "there is no other player, who can speak both the language of customers and the language of traders at the same time."
 Also when it comes to price, Mano Mano doesn't shy away from comparisons with the large generalists, nor when it comes to assortment: Mano Mano offers more than a million articles over the whole of Europe, but there is only an overlap of 30 per cent of Mano Mano articles which are also available from Amazon. The remaining 70 per cent are more specifically aimed at the DIY market. "And even in the garden assortment we also offer more products than can be found anywhere else," declares Raisson - Mano Mano simply provides what is known in e-commerce jargon as "the long tail".
This is mainly down to the structure on the part of the seller at Mano Mano. The around 400 traders who are active here, are originally from the B2B sector, making them particularly well specialised, reports Raisson. "We have a product catalogue which is very 'professional'," he says. Plumbing, for example, is one of our strongest product ranges. So Mano Mano appeals to a very experienced clientèle: "Our customers are extremely good do-it-yourselfers," reports Christian Raisson.
And we now also offer an additional for service them: on Super Mano, the contract forum, tradesmen and private individuals can be found who are able to help with DIY projects. 
In addition to traders from the professional sector, wholesalers as well as brand manufacturers are now also working directly with Mano Mano. "Which means: all the players in the industry come to us," Christian Raisson is pleased to say - without openly mentioning any names. He knows that direct selling by manufactures is a delicate matter.