Discussion of shortfalls in Russia

The fact that new openings are stuck at the level of the years of financial crisis and that sales are in decline was a hot topic for discussion at the “DIY, Household & Garden Centres Retail 2013” congress held in Moscow at the end of May. There was talk of the sales of regional chains being as much as 30 per cent down. A new addition both to the name of the congress and to the programme was the subject of garden centres. The total of some 530 delegates came from Russia, western Europe (Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Austria), Israel and the United States. Represented on the retail side were DIY companies with international, Russia-wide or regional operations. After the official opening by Manfred Maus, the founder of Obi, 50 experts both Russian and international were given an opportunity to take the microphone. The participants at the congress voted the Leroy Merlin chain, which is part of the French Groupe Adeo, as “Company of the Year”. The award of “Person of the Year” went to Evgeni Movtschan, commercial director of Obi Russia. The prize for “Supplier of the Year” and “Promotion of the Year” went to Bosch.