Store tour visiting six locations in Amsterdam

A store tour visiting six locations yesterday marked the start of the Global DIY Summit, which is taking place today and tomorrow in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The tour programme, with participants travelling in seven coaches, offered an overview of the Dutch home improvement retail landscape – including garden centres and specialist shops.

Interestingly, the country’s DIY market leader is based abroad: the German DIY chain Hornbach holds a market share of around 30 per cent. The store tour took participants back, so to speak, to its roots in the neighbouring country. The groups visited the oldest Dutch Hornbach store. It opened in Zaandam in 1997 with a sales area of around 15,000 m² and was expanded two years ago to include a 4,500 m² drive-in facility.

The Dutch DIY group Intergamma has a long history. Both retail chains were visited. Gamma, founded in 1971, positions itself as a local supplier; 95 per cent of the Dutch population live within the immediate catchment area of one of its current 166 stores. Gamma is also regarded as the country’s paint specialist, as was impressively demonstrated at the Purmerend site. With its own paint-mixing facilities, it offers a comprehensive service covering this product range; customers can have their own paint samples scanned and take home 55 ml test tins of their chosen colour.

The second Intergamma retail brand is Karwei, which has been operated on a franchise basis since 1975. It features a highly distinctive store layout, which is exemplarily implemented in Zaandam: the decorative product ranges are arranged in a ring around the ‘functional heart’ in the centre, which houses frequently requested core DIY products. A dedicated app guides customers to the products they are looking for. The format combines a very high-quality presentation with clearly promoted special offers.

The DIY chain Praxis is part of the Dutch Maxeda Group, which also operates in Belgium. The flagship store visited in Amsterdam has a sales area of 17,000 m², 7,000 m² of which is outdoors. The store generates around 30 per cent of its turnover from garden products. The group’s own-brand products play a major role.

The visit to Bouwmaat in Amsterdam – the chain’s flagship store with a floor area of 5,500 m² – was somewhat of an exception, as this company caters exclusively to professional customers. Four franchisees operate 45 outlets, seven of which are in Amsterdam. Both premium brands and own-brand…