Book Review ‘Hammertime’ by Thierry Coeman

The author, Thierry Coeman is a former Chairman of the Belgian DIY Association and author of numerous articles on the `ins and outs` of the Home Improvement Sector. He has been active during the last three decades as a facilitator in the relationship between retailers and suppliers and continues to play an active role in the industry through his international network. This book Hammertime - Reshaping the Home Improvement Store - is an ‘essay of 26 pages’ in book format. Thierry delivers a framework which retailers and suppliers may consider to reshape the future Home Improvement Store, whilst taking into account the societal evolutions and trends regarding consumers’ behaviour. ‘Hammertime’ is a metaphor comparing the current situation in the Home Improvement Sector to the critical moment in an auction when decisions must be made. Thierry says that “The Home Improvement and DIY Industry is facing numerous challenges due to fundamental transformations in its environment. The pandemic will continue to have a tremendous impact on the future of the Home Improvement store internationally.” He suggests that a myriad of changes must be considered urgently in order to answer latent needs. The book analyses, in seven concise sections, the `causalities` which together require a renewed business model, entirely focused on service patterns. The book is welcomed by key academics and retailers operating in the Home Improvement sector. It is presented as a thinktank and frame of mind publication to enable all stakeholders to activate their own tailor-made plan. The book`s seven correlated sections create a symbiosis between the hybrid patterns of the physical and digital “Phygital” challenges that must be overcome. The sections contained in the book include:

Essay by Thierry Coeman

which today and will tomorrow impact in the Home

Improvement Industry reshaped environment of the Home Improvement Store and Total Solution Provider which will create new dynamics and interactions in store. customer`s needs. through an extended service model advantageous partnership models.

Hammertime is available from the author at ¤25, on request via thierry.coeman@pandora.be, in hard copy or in a PDF version.

neW ‘priCe me’ App for proViding Quotes

Regularly providing quotes to trade customers can be a difficult and time - consuming task especially from enquiries received online. This is where the new ‘Price Me’ App becomes a timely solution - an app offering a straightforward way for builders and trade customers to send enquiries and Builders Merchants / Hardware stores to receive same and return quotes quickly and easily. The goal of the App is to make it easier to communicate digitally and provide highly detailed and accurate quotes in a timely manner. The App is designed by construction company, BK Engineering, and was originally founded on the core idea of supporting both trade customers and bricks and mortar merchants by providing them with a way to do business and engage more easily with each other online. “We have strong relationships going back many years with our builders’ merchant suppliers. We wanted to create an app to connect with them, as time has become so important. In recent times due to Covid-19, we wanted to spend more of our time on site, but we didn’t want to lose that connection with them either.” Billy Kirwin, BK Engineering. By allowing builders’ merchants and hardware stores to connect with their customers directly online, `Price Me` can help to give a competitive edge where businesses can continue to provide that “personal touch” that customers know and appreciate, by being able to respond to queries in real-time. The ‘Price Me app’ is fully live - for further information simply get in touch with Andrew Farrell at andrew@priceme.ie