Feedback from the annual international event was overwhelmingly positive, say organisers, as the sixth Global DIY Summit came to a close in Barcelona last week.

A record of 1,100 delegates from 55 countries attended this year’s congress, including more than 300 of the top retailers from around the world.

The Global DIY Summit is jointly hosted by the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA),  the European Federation of DIY Manufacturers (Fediyma), and the Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN). On the last day of the event on Friday, June 14, delegates gave their feedback using a voting tool, with 60% rating it as 'very good' to 'excellent' and a further 28% rating the event as 'good'.

More than 30% of the audience attending presentations at the summit were retailers; which was a huge increase compared to the congress held in Berlin last year, said organisers, although the suppliers still accounted for the majority of delegates, with approximately 59% listed as manufacturers.

Organisers also used the voting tool to gauge sentiment about the industry from its international attendees. When asked what expectations delegates have for their business development for this year compared to last year, 19% were optimistic, estimating growth of more than 10%, whilst 37% of the audience was more cautious, forecasting growth of between 0% and 4%. Approximately 22% of the suppliers think their business will increase more than 10% compared to last year, while 15% of the retailers forecast the same growth as the previous year.

The industry still seems to be sceptical regarding the switch from bricks & mortar into online retailing, as 21% of the total delegates think that online sales shares in DIY in five years will be less than 10%. Almost 26% of the audience predicted a range between 10% and 15%. Even more interesting is that 16% of the delegates forecast more than 25%.

This year’s motto was “DIY NEXT – Reinventing our industry”, with speakers presenting on a range of topic, including digital transformations and digital platforms as new business models, political and economic forecasts, and the need for more strategic partnerships between suppliers and retailers.

The general perception of global economy was positive and most of the speakers forecast more innovation and growth within the next years. On the first day, Alejandro González (Deloitte) presented a global economic and political overview and highlighted the risks and advantages within the era of Trump Presidency, Brexit and other challenges worldwide.

The high expectations for the presentation of the head of strategic business development of The Home Depot, Matt Schweickert, were met with his impressive keynote “Home Improvement in the Age of Retail Disruption”. The presentations from Jörn Küpper (McKinsey & Co.), Martin Wild (MediaMarktSaturn) and Steven van Belleghem (Expert in Customer Focus in a Digital World) were particular highlights of the first day, along with the panel discussion, where leading figures from the home improvement industry – Kingfisher’s Verónique Laury, 3M’s Jeff Lavers, Sylvain Prud’homme from Lowe’s, and Henning von Boxberg from Robert Bosch - exchanged views on a new kind of cooperation between retailers and suppliers.

The second day also saw very interesting presentations on new global consumer trends and digitalisation, including the keynote from Peter Hinssen from Nexxworks.

This year’s farewell speech was presented by ManoMano co-founder Christian Raisson. According to feedback from the audience, organisers say his speech was one of the highlights of the event. In the final wrap-up, both Chairmen of the Global DIY Summit, John W. Herbert (EDRA/GHIN) and Ralf Rahmede (fediyma) agreed that this had been a most interesting, informative and successful event having had a very positive feedback.

Global DIY Summit General Manager of the, Iñaki Maillard, said: “This was by far the most successful Global DIY Summit ever. We have welcomed delegates from 55 countries from every continent around the world. The feedback from sponsors and participants has been very positive. I think everyone is very much looking forward to Dublin.”

During the course of the event, the Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2018 was presented to Damien Deleplanque, former CEO at ADEO. The International award was presented by organisers at the Gala dinner at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

The next Global DIY Summit will be held in Dublin from June 6-7, 2019.

Read the first of DIY Week’s reports from this year’s Global DIY Summit in the June 29 issue. Don’t receive the print or digital edition? Subscribe here