The first proper German discount DIY store?

It is probably exactly the right location for an (as yet) experimental store: in Falkenstein, a small town of slightly more than 8 000 inhabitants in the south-west of Saxony, NBB launched its newest distribution channel on 2 May in the shape of the Bauaktiv discount DIY store and its four employees. On a retail area of around 800 m² the new store sells roughly 8 000 different products that are intended to satisfy the basic DIY requirements of the customers. The assortment focuses on the categories of ironmongery, paints and finishes, and the garden. According to Thomas Herzner, managing director of NBB Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte GmbH, priority has been given to consumer articles that customers need on a regular basis. Garden products such as compost and fertiliser feature in the outdoor area, with seasonal plants rounding off the range of goods. Hardware such as screws and nuts can be bought loose by the kilo. A conservative approach has been taken to the inclusion of supplier brands, although products from Fischer, Spax and Meister are present, along with Bosch's blue line products. Apart from these, the store relies completely on the private label range developed in house, which is marketed under labels like Baufan and Baufix.
According to Herzner, NBB's new Bauaktiv distribution channel is "a tightly run discount concept, with a clear distinction drawn between the existing bauSpezi concept and the new Bauaktiv stores". The two distribution systems are clearly separated, therefore, in the NBB head office in Rodenberg and in NBB's southern office in Forchheim also. Horst Bradtmöller and Julia Ganski from the NBB head office developed the new discount concept and got it up and running in a short period of time. Both of the staff members responsible for Bauaktiv stress that "we are a standalone company in the company", pointing out that the discount system is autonomous. And it may well be the case that with this new system NBB has succeeded in creating the first proper discount DIY store in Germany that goes beyond pure exploitation concepts.
Bradtmöller and Ganski have taken advantage of the fact that the two regional entrepreneurs Ronny Kadelke and Sven Voigtländer were on the look-out for a convincing distribution concept for the former Netto store in Falkenstein, which was standing empty following the relocation of the latter. After consideration was given to the idea of a Subway branch (the town is too small for that, however) and a Sonderpreis Baumarkt…