An Unforgettable Edition Of The Global DIY-Summit

The world of home improvement has just returned from coming together at the jubilee 10th Global DIY-Summit, which took place in “The Eternal City” - Rome, Italy. 

At the conclusion of the 10th Global DIY-Summit, the delegates, using the in-app voting tool, rated this event an overwhelming 67% as 'very good' to 'excellent' with a further 23% rating the event as 'good'. Over 1,000 delegates from 55 countries attended the congress, which included over 300 of the top retailers in our sector from around the world.

The Global DIY-Summit is the most international meeting of the entire industry, which was verified through our Voting Tool. As expected in the DIY Industry, our audience was predominantly male, at 82% of the total number of delegates. This year over one quarter of the audience were retailers, whilst suppliers are still the largest share among the various type of attendees: just under 60% of the delegates were manufacturers. A growing number of consultants and service providers are also joining the Global DIY-Summit, with a increasing proportion made up of marketplaces, exemplifying one of the trends in the industry. 

These figures reinforce the internationality of the Global DIY-Summit and the vital role it plays in bringing the industry from around the world together in one central location.  It was most encouraging for us as organisers that the delegates using the voting tool labelled our congress to be a world-class event. The next and 11th Global DIY-Summit will be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 13 June 2025. Over 72% of delegates have already confirmed their participation to next year’s Summit.

Home Improvement Industry Growth Expectations

In a poll of the delegates at the Global DIY-Summit gauging expectations for the home improvement industry in 2024, 15.1% of respondents anticipate more than 5% growth, while 22.7% foresee a 3-5% increase. The majority, 32.3%, predict a modest growth of 1-3%, and 17.2% expect minimal growth of 0-1%. On the downside, 4.6% anticipate a 0-1% decline, 5.5% foresee a 1-3% decline, and 2.5% predict a decline of more than 3%. These insights reflect a cautious optimism within the industry as it navigates the coming year.

On the other hand, expectations for the growth of the home improvement industry over the next five years are varied. A notable 41.5% of respondents foresee a moderate growth of 5-10%, while 21.3% anticipate a more robust growth of 10-20%. Interestingly, 7.5% are optimistic about a growth exceeding 20%. Conversely, 28.3% predict minimal growth of 0-5%, and a small fraction expects a decline, with 0.7% forecasting a 0-5% decline, 0.5% expecting a 5-10% decline, and 0.2% anticipating a decline greater than 10%.

Opening of the 10th Global DIY-Summit 2024 in Rome

On Tuesday the 13th of June delegates were given the opportunity to attend a Store Tour of Rome. In total, a record number of delegates took part in the store tour, consisting of seven buses visiting four top-quality DIY stores in Rome and its surrounding area, as well as Eataly, one of leading concepts in food retailing internationally. 

Attendees of the Global DIY-Summit Store Tour visited the market leaders in Italy, Leroy Merlin and OBI. Store Tour delegates also visited Bricofer, representing the local side of DIY retailing in Italy, as well as Tecnomat, part of the Adeo groups portfolio focused on pro-consumers and demonstrating impressive growth in recent years. 

The jubilant mood, born from reuniting the industry, was palpable; as retailers, suppliers, consultants, and industry stakeholders networked and re-connected, first at the VIP Cocktail Party supported by the Messe Frankfurt and its international portfolio of trade fairs, and then at the Get Together, marking the official start of the 10th Global DIY-Summit.   

FIRST DAY - EMBRACING CHANGE IN DIY – How to Thrive in the Never Normal

The focal theme of the 10th Global DIY-Summit was “Embracing Change in DIY – How to Thrive in the Never Normal”. Internationally renowned speakers gave outstanding and thought-provoking presentations on Reshaping Realities: Exploring the Never Normal, Ethical AI in Home Improvement, Innovation Xperience and its link to Creativity and Progress, Home & Health and the Well-Being Connection, Home Improvement Trends Across Continents, Market Updates on Home Improvement Insights and Sustainable Home Improvement and Scope 3 Solutions. 

The first half of 2024 has not been without challenge for the industry. The effects of climate change, volatility in customer demand & speed of change and paradigm shift have re-affirmed that we are experiencing a VUCA world to a degree never previously experienced. The DIY, home improvement and garden industry have to act now to ensure its relevancy and success moving forwards – including attracting and engaging not only a new generation of consumers, but also employees and associates, who are more demanding than ever.

Co-Founder of the Global DIY-Summit, John W. Herbert, and Managing Director, Iñaki Maillard, took to the stage to open the programme of the Global DIY-Summit, with a focus on the desire to inspire, inform, engage & motivate delegates in the following days, as well as sharing an update on embracing diversity in the industry. Iñaki Maillard finished by thanking the delegates and sponsors of the Global DIY-Summit – the defining factor that make the Global DIY-Summit possible.

Thierry Garnier, EDRA/GHIN President and Group CEO of Kingfisher plc [pictured below], and Reinhard Wolff, President of HIMA and CEO of Wolfcraft, then took to the stage to share their thoughts and perspectives on the current state of the industry. Through personal and professional insights, Thierry and Reinhard reflected on the previous 50 years and the uncertainty that was experienced over that time. We tend to reminisce with “rose-tinted glasses”, when in fact the world has experienced many challenges previously. Thierry highlighted that “change is the only constant” and shared his personal philosophy that following the compass is more important than following the map.   

Leading specialist in global economic issues, Dr. Ira Kalish, Chief Global Economist at Deloitte, enlightened the audience on the current Global Economy in a polycrisis world, ending with an optimistic message that real-term decrease in inflation is becoming apparent as consumers spending behaviour has shifted away from goods and more towards services. The CEO of OBI, Sebastian Gundel, shed clarity on his vision and goals for OBI; with an emphasis placed on building a strong leadership team, strengthening internal communications, underlining strong and trustful relationships with suppliers and a sharp focus on the four key pillars of growth (connected stores, partnering models, franchising and retail media) at OBI. 

Delegates were captivated with the particularly dynamic session led by Ken Hughes, the world’s leading shopper and consumer behaviouralist, and Peter Hinssen, renowned keynote speaker, author and serial entrepreneur, on Reshaping Realities and their exploration of the never normal. Ken Hughes provided an eye-opening introduction, sharing the necessity of breaking out of one’s comfort zone, and his thoughts that failure should not be seen as the opposite to success. Ken is firm believer that success is built on the foundations of failure and surrounds every success we can see. Peter Hinssen shared his personal life experience through the evolution from an analogue to a digital world. He highlighted the power of transformation, the increasing frequency of S curves of technology, and how we are more and more living in a world of unknown unknowns. Peter summarized by sharing that in this never normal world we don’t need puzzle solvers, rather mystery solvers. Just as the audience felt they were beginning to get a grasp on the topic, Ken and Peter delved deeper into the never normal through an insightful fireside chat, shedding new light on the practical strategies and fresh perspectives on resilience and innovation.   

Following the networking lunch, EDRA/GHIN President and Group CEO of Kingfisher plc, Thierry Garnier, retook to the stage to share an update on the Scope 3 Taskforce that was launched 12 months ago at the 9th Global DIY-Summit. Part of Thierry’s time on stage included the launch of the EDRA/GHIN and Ricardo Scope 3 Accounting Guide and Strategy Document, with the aim of helping the industry on its Scope 3 reporting journey. Another announcement made during this session was that OBI, one of founding members of the EDRA/GHIN Scope 3 Taskforce, published their commitment to both the Scope 3 Taskforce Targets and Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), making themselves one of the first companies to do so since the launch of the Scope 3 taskforce. These commitments involve the setting of decarbonization targets within the next 2 years, which OBI will achieve through SBTi, as well as collaborating with suppliers to set targets themselves within 5 years.

The session continued with two members of the Scope 3 Taskforce, Bunnings and Cainz, coming on stage to share their thoughts and beliefs on the importance of the Taskforce. Jamie Pitcairn, Technical Director, Corporate Sustainability at Ricardo plc, then presented more information of the Scope 3 Strategy and Roadmap for the Global DIY Retail Sector before inviting experts from Kingfisher, Henkel, Maxeda DIY Group & Bosch Power Tools on stage to share their views on how we can tackle and reduce our Scope 3 emissions. The General Secretary of EDRA/GHIN, John W. Herbert, wrapped up the session by sharing that only through working together as an industry can we begin to tackle accelerated climate change.

Katie King, Author and CEO, AI in Business, continued the future-oriented session with a focus on ethical AI in home improvement. AI does not yet have an intuitive element, but many theorize that unbound AI will embrace nearly every part of our daily lives in the future. We have to ensure that societal good comes from the use of AI. There is also a paradox of personalization; AI has been around since the 1950s and has been through many peaks and troughs in this time. 

The first day of the 10th Global DIY-Summit was closed by Aidan McCullen, Author, Consultant, Lecturer and Board Director at Edge Behaviour, who broke down the importance of an agile mindset in times of change, reiterating the point made earlier in the day by Thierry Garnier that change is the only constant. Aidan also shared his belief that we no longer live in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, but rather a BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible). Finally, to close the thought-provoking first day of the 10th Global DIY-Summit renowned Healthusiasm, Christophe Jauquet, gave an inspirational presentation on home and the ultimate investment needed in it for our health and wellbeing.  

Gala Evening: The Launch of the DIY Retail Legacy Award – Presented to Cosimo Fadda, Honorary Chairman of the CFadda Group 

A highlight of the 10th Global DIY-Summit was the Gala Evening that took place in awe-inspiring surroundings underneath the artificial cloud of La Nuvola. The Gala Evening also saw the launch of a groundbreaking initiative of the Global DIY-Summit, the Global DIY Hall of Fame, which aims to recognize not only large international retailers and suppliers, but also other market players who have profoundly impacted their local communities.

In line with its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategies, the Global DIY Hall of Fame aims to broaden the breadth of candidates recognized by the Global DIY, Home Improvement and Garden Industry. 

Cosimo Fadda, the Honorary Chairman of the CFadda Group, was honoured to receive the inaugural DIY Retail Legacy Award 2024. Cosimo Fadda has made the company Cfadda, founded in 1818, what it is today: the leading DIY retailer in Sardinia.

Following a most moving laudatory speech from Marco Orlandelli, Cosimo Fadda shared "I am a very simple person,". Family, honour and people are the three core values of Cosimo. "The award goes to my family and the people who work for us," he said as his family, the generation of Fadda’s currently at the helm of the company, took to the stage to celebrate the occasion together.  

Second Day: Home Improvement Market Insights & Home Improvement Across Continents

The second day of the 10th Global DIY-Summit began with a most informative presentation from Nick Stene, Global Head of Home & Garden at Euromonitor International, one of the most internationally recognized data analysists globally. Nick imparted his view on the importance of data analysis and the essential role it plays in customer relationships. He also shared how to efficiently work with this data in order to avoid analysis paralysis. 

Craig Webb, President at Webb Analytics, continued the programme by presenting great ideas from DIY Centers in the United States beyond the Home Depot. With a poignant introduction, Craig shared how customer demands are equally high across the world, and provided numerous examples of successful locally based chains in America that are adapting to best answer their customer demands in their vicinity. The presentation once again highlighted the importance of being open to learning from one another. 

Two partners from the bespoke consultancy form OC&C, Duncan Simmonds and Bob Chermin, finished the home improvement market insights session through providing an update on the DIY market from their perspective. Duncan and Bob imparted their thoughts on the increasing length and complexity of customer journey, and how we need to start looking further ahead as an industry in order to be more resilient and better prepared for what might impact us in the future.  

The session on collaborative success in home improvement was presented by Head of Ad Sales – Tools & Gardening at Amazon Ads, Jacob Minah. Amazon is active in so many various fields that it and its products are seamlessly connected to our everyday lives, leading to a huge amount of customer insight. This data allows Jacob and his team to determine and delve deeper into customer behaviour and better understand their consumers, leading to high customer satisfaction as they feel as if they are treated as an individual rather than another piece of data.  

The penultimate session of the 10th Global DIY-Summit provided insights into three of home improvement retailers from opposite ends of the world. The CEO of Mitre 10 New Zealand, Andrea Scown, began the session by sharing the culture of Mitre 10 New Zealand. With the face of a Corporate and the spirit of a cooperative, Mitre 10 ensure that all of their associates feel included in their stores, and that their customers and associates feel like the company is “with you all the way”. Paul Candon, the CEO of United Hardware, then showed his ideas of “Crafting Excellence”. Despite challenges faced in recent years, such as demographic change, housing prices and inflation, United Hardware has continued to grow in both the business and the sector. United Hardware work hard to ensure their members’ investment leads to substantial returns. The CEO of Group Cemaco, based in Guatemala, then gave a most astute presentation on the softer side of home improvement. With the overarching goal of helping customer build homes that best reflect themselves, Cemaco stock a wide range of home improvement goods, acting as a one-stop shop for the population of Guatemala. 

Marc Henkens, E-commerce Manager at Hubo Belgium, finished the session with a most interesting presentation the future of the QR code powered by GS1. With these new development QR codes, retailers and suppliers can include codes on their packaging or products that directly links to a variety of important information, such a guarantees, life cycle information & instruction manuals. 

The farewell session of the 10th Global DIY-summit was hosted by Kayleigh Victoria Fazan, Founder & Managing Director at The International Retail Academy. Kayleigh shared her experiences of inclusivity at the heart of retail and how this is key to reducing staff turnover. Inclusivity is also of vital importance when training sales staff, as making the customer feel included in a decision process of customer journey is essential to achieving high customer satisfaction. 

In the final wrap-up, John W. Herbert, Co-Founder, and Iñaki Maillard, Managing Director of the Global DIY-Summit, reiterated how inspiring and invigorating it had been to gather the industry and its stakeholders together in Rome. John thanked all of the delegates and sponsors again, with Iñaki providing his thoughts on the importance of having trust in our teams. Through building positive team spirit, we can ensure associates feel heard and remain engaged and motivated. 

The Managing Director of the Global DIY-Summit, Iñaki Maillard, summarized the entire event by saying: “I would like to extend my gratitude to the more than 150 individuals who made this event possible, including the cleaning staff, waiters, and technicians. I deeply thank each and every one of them. To all of you, our audience, I encourage you to believe in your teams. Give them the freedom to create, express their inner selves, and become the best versions of themselves. By doing so, you will likely achieve the best results in whatever you endeavor.”

The 10th Global DIY-Summit once again fortified and reinforced the vital role the Global DIY-Summit plays in bringing the industry together. The atmosphere of learning, exchanging and reconnecting as an industry was tangible in the air, as was the unmistakable buzz of networking. 

The Global DIY-Summit and its team are already looking forward to welcoming the industry to the 4th Virtual DIY-Summit that will be taking place on 27th of September before the industry meets again face to face in Lisbon, Portugal for the 11th Global DIY-Summit from the 11th – 13th of June 2025.  

Source : Global DIY-Summit

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