John Herbert celebrated his 85th birthday

John Herbert celebrated his 85th birthday last Saturday, 18 April 2026. The founder and managing director of the international DIY trade association Edra/Ghin looks back on a 70-year career in retail, which he is now bringing to a close. Following highly successful years in the grocery retail sector in the UK and Germany, the British-born Herbert – who also took German citizenship in 2020 – entered the DIY sector in 1983 when he became managing director of Knauber stores. He later spent two years working for the US global market leader Home Depot and returned to Germany in 2002 as co-managing director of the BHB. Since 2008, he has built up Edra and also helped launch the Global DIY Summit.

John Herbert is regarded as a great communicator and networker. The fundamental ethos of exchange, cooperation and learning from one another is seen as arguably the most significant impetus he has given to the international home improvement sector. In recent years, Herbert has also been particularly committed to the idea of making the entire sector more climate-friendly through a joint Scope 3 strategy.