Midea - Meet the new kid on the bloc

MEET THE NEW KID ON THE BLOC!

Pipelife Ireland is delighted to welcome Midea to the Pipelife family. The Midea Monobloc Heat Pump is the latest addition to their range of heating solutions and will complement their existing range of Heat Pumps, Underfloor Heating, Smart Controls, Low Temperature Radiators, Heat Recovery Units and Air Conditioning units. Midea are one of the world’s best-known manufacturers of HVAC Products. In 2018 Forbes Global named Midea as the world’s 253rd largest business as a result of $40bn sales. With a European market share of over 20%, Midea now manufacture 1 in every 5 air conditioning systems sold into Europe, and in 2019, HVAC total global sales output reached over 40 million systems. Midea are so confident in their products reliability that they are offering the industry’s first 10 Year Warranty. This is a game changer!

Discover Easy Comfort

The Midea M Thermal is an integrated system that provides space heating and cooling as well as domestic hot water. It offers a complete, all-year-round solution which can remove the need for traditional gas or oil boilers, or work together with them. A compact solution where a single unit is installed on the outside of the property, taking up no space inside and can be used alongside an existing heating solution. The heat pump is connected to the indoor heating system simply by laying two heat insulated pipes and the electric connection cables under the ground. The Midea M Thermal Monobloc air-to-water heat pump systems are available in single phase capacities of 4 kW - 16 kW, or three phase capacities of 12 kW to 30 kW. Michael Geary, Technical Sales Manager with Pipelife commented - “One of the things that’s really clear when you look at the Midea unit is that the engineers have clearly looked at other machines available on the market and what the best features were when they made this unit. An example of this would be how they have managed to get 16 Kilowatts out of a unit that only has a single fan. This comes down to the design of the fan unit itself with Midea making a scallop shape cut out of the blade and this is done to help increase air flow and also to keep the noise down, hence the Midea unit can boast that it is one of the quietest on the market today” Michael continued - “The Midea unit comes with all the features that you’d expect, weather compensation, two zone control, legionella protection, quiet modes etc. So, everything that all major brands include in their heat pumps come with this as well. The biggest advantage we see with the Midea Unit is the fact that they offer a 10 Year warranty. This really reinforces the quality of the unit and is currently the longest guarantee on the market today! For us we think this represents the next generation of heat pumps”.

For further information contact Pipelife at 021 4884700 / ireland@pipelife.com and www.pipelife.ie.

STUDY TOUR BELGIUM - THE NETHERLANDS

OCTOBER 18-21st 2022

The HAI Study Tour to Belgium & The Netherlands was a great success with many compliments from enthusiastic participants. The focus was on ‘Best of Class ‘stores in DIY, Trade and Garden.

10 stores were selected and visited (six in Belgium & four in The Netherlands). The selected stores reflected best practice and innovation in both markets where Home Improvement, Hardware, Trade and Garden Centres operate. In each store visit, the group were offered a brief introduction by the management and were able to avail of a guided tour around most formats where questions were welcomed and answered willingly by our hosts for between 30 - 45 minutes. Our guide was regular contributor to The Hardware Journal, Theirry Coeman.

Day One began with BRICO PlanIt in Ternat, Belgium.

BRICO www.brico.be

Brico is the market leader in Belgium owned by Maxeda www.maxedadiygroup.com (a French Private Equity Company), the largest DIY retailer in the Benelux with 339 stores, both owned and franchised. They operate three formats in Belgium.

Brico PlanIt: 14 + 1 Brico Depot Store + 10.000m² Brico DIY: 45 own + 79 franchised + 5.000m² Brico City: 14 + 350m²

These stores are mainly focused on ‘Home Improvement’ with a strong decoration category. Many participants commented on the clear signage in a range of sizes and colours. Also, that staff members noticibly acknowledged customers as they passed by which was very impressive. An interesting feature was that the store’s fencing offering was inside and not in the yard. They have a similar climate to Ireland and obviously feel that the fencing will be more appealing if not exposed to the elements for long periods of time. Store representatives explained that the Government in Belgium, like some other European countries, have a scheme in place whereby employers can incentivise their employees with an Eco product voucher for employees and customers which are redeemed against specific energy saving products in store.

DE KINDER, Independent Store www.dekinder.be Our second store visit was to De Kinder. Approx. 30% of the Belgian sector is still operated by independents, most of them are family owned. De Kinder is one of the better examples of hardware stores which understand perfectly well the blending of DIY and Trade. This store is operated by the third-generation team of brother, Hans & sister, Leen De Kinder, after a recent handing over by their parents. They have 35 employees with a turnover of ¤16m. Their mainly trade offering is excellently demonstrated by chunky merchandising and trade product being highlighted throughout. It operates on three floors with a lift and holds about ¤4m worth of stock. They also offer a repair workshop where machines are repaired on site. Their technicians also carry out repairs at the customer’s premises for example on larger compressors. They also provide changing rooms for their workwear section. The company are members of ASAMCO, a B2B buying group with 65 members.

HUBO BELGIUM www.hubo.be

Then on to Hubo, the major challenger to Brico with 158 stores and a turnover of ¤678m. They are performing extremely well, especially during the last decade as it doubled the number of stores and turnover. This store in Willebroek is one of Hubo’s new hybrid format stores with both their classic hardware store operating on average on a 2,000 - 3,000m² format and their new format Plafomat format of 4,000m2, side by side but with separate entrances. It occupies a solid second place in

the DIY sector with a market share of 33% and has become a household name over the years. Hubo focuses on the DIY market with an extensive and high-quality range of branded products. The range of shops each has about 25,000 DIY SKU’s and related items for in and around the house. Hubo has a varied customer base of do-it-yourselfers, in which both the occasional hobbyist and the ambitious and driven do-it-yourselfer can be found. Their accessibility is ideal as they target just a 5km catchment area and are located just outside the centre of towns, along major approach roads and have a large parking area. Hubo has been a member of Bricoalliance purchasing group since 2016. They also operate the ‘Garden oh Green brand’ store format, www.ohgreen.be/ with 12 stores averaging 6,000m2 and a turnover of ¤77m. Hubo’s new Plafomat stores, www.plafomat.be/nl/, are currently five Builders Merchant type stores and have opened with an average size of 4,000m2 and turnover of ¤5m. They are aimed at professionals from the construction industry with an extensive range of building materials, hardware and tools. Plafomat guarantees a quick quotation and delivery, their employees are specifically trained with reliable and up-to-date knowledge of construction products. Hubo’s average margin is 38% with the Plafomat margin at 30% and a 35% margin where both stores operate together. Hubo have on average 30,000 SKUs instore with a basic, extra and plus product offering. They have 56% of their customers using their B2C loyalty card with an order and collection option and a free two hour van rental (¤250 deposit) for customers with that necessity. A welcome lunch was provided by our hosts which was gratefully received.

GARDEN CENTER VAN UYTSEL https://vanuytsel.be

Probably one of Europe’s best examples of a dynamic and modern Garden Centre and one of its largest. This huge store (20.000m²) is operated by the family Van Uytsel, South of Antwerp and offers a unique product range of plants, flowers, and garden accessories. Family owned and now in its second generation they have expanded from a very modest footprint to the large store that exists today. With a huge dedication to layout, merchandising and stock rotation they have many events throughout the year to encourage and inspire their customer base. They also offer cut flowers for customers. They are very active on social media including Facebook and Instagram where their range of plants and flowers are displayed to great effect in encouraging instore visits. After an overnight in Antwerp the group moved on to Tilbury near the city of Breda in The Netherlands where there were four store locations quite close to each other and offered an excellent view of the Dutch market.

PRAXIS www.praxis.nl

Praxis is the Dutch brand of Maxeda and was our first stop on Day Two with 190 stores (147 owned & 43 franchised), Praxis is a leading DIY brand in the Netherlands and caters for the needs of both experienced and new DIY enthusiastic customers with over 40,000 SKUs on average in store. The average floor surface is 3,500m2 . Our visit began with a presentation by Eric & Denis who opened by explaining the term ‘phygital’, a hybrid of ‘physical’ store and ‘digital’ sales which is being trialled in 10 stores. The ‘Phygital‘ concept is designed to offer the best customer experience by connecting the physical instore environment with the digital online experience. Believing there is a ‘maker’ in everyone their ‘for the makers’ website seeks to improve the skill level of their customers with the availability of online workshops and How-to videos. The objective of the phygital concept is to improve the revenue per sq. metre, sales by linear meter, improved stock rotation and increased ticket size. Planograms are optimised in store to reflect what was needed immediately when the customer arrives instore and what can be ordered and made available within a day or two. Their marketing concentrated on making the store a destination of choice with middle-aisles reduced giving additional space to

the areas that needed this space such as seasonal Garden,

Lifestyle and Christmas. In store configurator terminals are available which allow customers to interactively choose specific product categories with an immersive instore shopping experience via a screen. Ideal for products with multiple, customisable formats including Bathroom Products and Doors. Configurators allow customers to fine tune a purchase to their precise specifications and review before making a purchase. There is also a focus on sustainability and eco products as can be seen by the mass display of rolls of insulation at the entrances and other energy saving products highlighted around the store. Praxis also promote The Netherlands

Government sponsored Eco product voucher cards which allow for the purchase of Eco products by citizens to the value of ¤60.

KARWEI www.karwei.nl

Karwei is an Intergamma, www.intergamma.nl, owned store chain with 134 stores which along with its betterknown GAMMA Store format operates 166 DIY stores in the Netherlands and 88 in Belgium. They have been the number one in store numbers in the DIY market in Holland for some time and are in the top 15 in Europe. Karwei, a high-end DIY-Decoration store concept (+ 3,000m2) was next on our route. They offer a softer option with a selection of DIY & Furnishing and they focus on trends and carefully coordinated ranges. Their collection of curtains, floors, paint, lighting, wallpaper, furniture, and home accessories offer the consumer more of a homeware and gift choice.

HORNBACH www.hornbach.de

The busiest store we visited over the two days was Hornbach. A family-owned German company (50% ownership), modelled on Home Depot in the USA. It has 169 Stores in nine countries with 18 in Holland and a turnover in 2021 ¤5.8b. Their average store targets ¤3,000 per sq. metre of space with a 13% margin. The Breda Store visited is 20,000m2 with a approx. ¤50m annual turnover, 2,300 customers daily on average, a ¤54 average ticket spend and ¤10m product in Stock with 200 employee equivalents. Cement is their biggest single selling product (33,000 bags in the 8 weeks before we arrived). Their Customer Profile is 85% Homeowners & 15% Contractors with 10/12% online. They are currently rolling out their new Flooring concept store in Kerkrade, which is 6,000m2. Hornbach have on average 40,000 SKU’s in store & 120,000 online. They run an ‘Everyday low price ‘pricing strategy with no discounts and offer a ‘Profi Service’ for contractors where amongst other advantages they can shop cashless and pay in the following month. Their employees can also shop with a limit set by the contractor individually.

GAMMA www.gamma.be

GAMMA is the largest franchise formula of Intergamma. GAMMA focusses on building and construction. They promote having expert staff available with a paint specialist present in every store. The GAMMA website has more than 30,000 items in their web shop with extensive product information, decision aids, step-by-step plans, how-to videos and a stock checker. They offer a GAMMA Handyman service where customers can arrange to have the right professional do the job for them. They work with a wide network of professional and external parties.

BOUWMAAT www.bouwmaat.nl

Bouwmaat is very much a successful Builders Merchant B2B store with merchandising and imagery to support same. With 50 branches throughout the Netherlands Bouwmaat focusses on the professional in construction, renovation and maintenance. Bouwmaat’s categories include wood, sanitary installations, electrical goods and all other building materials with 12,000 SKUs. It is considered one of the leading building materials dealers in the Netherlands. The company has now moved to a multichannel strategy that allows all customers to purchase products online, www.bouwmaat.nl. This strategy relies on optimised processes and product information management software that feeds up-to-date and well-organised information on all products, from a single source to all of the different sales channels. Their opening hours from 7.00am displays their customer base focus with store sizes from 4,000m2 to 8,000m2 .

BRICO CITY STORES www.maxedadiygroup.com

These are centre city shops in a convenience store layout of between 350m2 and 1,000m2, offering the customer products for smaller jobs and maintenance. They promote foot and bicycle travel with opening hours to suit city centre footfall.