ManoMano founders, Christian Raisson (l.), Philippe de Chanville
Christian Raisson (l.) established the specialised online DIY and garden marketplace ManoMano with Philippe de Chanville in 2012. At the 6th Global DIY Summit he will give the closing address for the summit. In an interview with DIY International he outlines in advance his vision of how the development of the home improvement and garden industry will look in the next few years.
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The home improvement and gardening industry is the last non-­digital sector, says Christian Raisson. The co-founder of ManoMano sees potential here above all for the specialists – and for manufacturers as the heart of the digital transformation
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How would you describe ManoMano's development in the last year when it comes to its acceptance by consumers on the one hand and by suppliers and distributors on the other?

Christian Raisson: In 2017, we became the number one online destination for home improvement and garden products in France. In the coming years, we expect to become the leader in this category across the other European regions in which we operate - Belgium, Spain, Italy, the UK and Germany. Our customer base across Europe has reached more than two million consumers, and we are currently driving more than 15 million unique visitors per month to our platform.
We work closely with our sellers to achieve a win-win partnership and as a result we have a rapidly growing number of top-quality suppliers and distributors across all country platforms. Our objective is not to have the biggest number of partners, but the best suppliers and distributors in Europe, and we are therefore very selective in our choice. We want to grow quickly, which is only possible if our partners grow as fast as we do.

And when it comes to the figures?

Today, we offer over two million products to consumers across Europe. In 2017, our sales reached over 250 million euros, tripling the business year on year, and we won't stop there.

Are there new countries ManoMano will enter?

Right now we are focused on the development of the countries in which we operate and are looking into launching new services for our partners and consumers. With a market of 200 billion euros in Europe in the six countries where ManoMano is present, we already have plenty to do. However, if we see an opportunity to accelerate the business, we will do it.

Mr Raisson, at the 6th Global DIY Summit you will give a talk entitled "Creating the new frontiers of the DIY industry". Which frontiers is it about? Sergio Giroldi, the CEO of Obi, just preaches the spirit of cooperation in an interview with diy, the trade magazine for the German-speaking market. The interview is also published in this issue of DIY International.

The New Frontier is, of course, a reference to Kennedy's speech in 1960. At that time, the USA had to choose between isolationism and progressivism. I don't want to say too much about my talk at the DIY Summit, but you can probably guess where my talk will lead businesses to look to for the future - if they are not too late, of course.
I do agree with Mr Giroldi: we can't do everything alone, we need to work together, and not just the traditional…
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