Holland’s biggest

In November came the Hornbach opening in Breda. Greater emphasis is given to the creation of atmosphere, and there is a drive-in for trade customers

The North is flourishing again

Continuing growth for Clas Ohlson

The Clas Ohlson DIY trading group has an excellent name in Sweden and Norway. This high level of customer awareness stems from its mail order …

Head wind for Leroy Merlin

Intergamma and Praxis are jointly attempting to prevent Leroy Merlin from entering the market in the Netherlands. Two market research companies are …

Netherlands v. France

OBI discovers the small format

OBI Fix is the name of the new neighbourhood store concept, which presents OBI’s vision of “more than just four walls” attractively over an area of 1…

Maintaining market share against the odds

Contrary to the general tendency in the industry, Hagebau again saw positive development in 2000, especially through above-average growth …

“Grow your own” in Japanese

Japan is part of the worldwide trend towards stable to buoyant garden markets

Retail trends from India

The sixth issue of the Retail Innovations Screen once again throws light on global retail trends that are reflected in innovative sales concepts.

The buy-it-yourself market

The home improvement market is rapidly gaining ground in Asia. Retailers there are adapting to customers with a different outlook from those in the West

The great branding leap forward

Chinese suppliers are pushing ahead mightily with branding, as amply demonstrated at the 10th China International Hardware Show in Shanghai

A new format for the Chinese market

In China Orgill, an American hardware distributor, has entered into a joint venture with Chinese partners to start up their own retail store …

Discovering China as a sales market

An interview with Mathias Küpper, project director of Koelnmesse Co. Ltd in Shanghai

“Great opportunity for expansion”