The 13 th DIY & Home Improvement Conference, which was held in Benaki Museum on Thursday, 24 November, came to end in an ambiance of enthusiasm, eagerness and unprecedented mobilisation. After a three-year waiting period and a virtual event in between, the Convention that has been bringing together the home improvement and renovation market for 15 years is back in its physical form. The biggest B2B networking meeting in the market of tools, paints, construction materials and Home & Garden refurbishment equipment, brought together 250 representatives from 118 Greek, Cypriot and international businesses. For one more year, the DIY & Home Improvement Conference has gathered top administrative executives of all the large companies and large delegations from all the divisions of major retail chains. At the same time, the presence of traditional trade was very active given that, among the participants, there were representatives from 73 paint & hardware stores. .

This year’s event titled “Keep rolling” was divided in the following themes:
THE FUTURE OF RETAIL TRADE: Personalized experience and services
SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS: Garden, environmental care and social solidarity
CONSUMER SURVEYS: Discover the public and win it over
QUICK COMMERCE: How feasible it is for DIY & Home Improvement
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: Data, marketplaces and Omni channel at a time of upheaval
PHYSICAL STORES AND BRICK AND MORTAR RETAIL TRADE: The ‘phygital’ symbiosis and balance between physical and digital stores

Keynote speakers from Greece, Italy, England, Belgium and Australia communicated the pulse of the market to participants, describing experiences and giving us food for thought.

The 13 th DIY & Home Improvement Conference was presented by journalist Vicky Pavlou and participants were welcomed by the CEO of ‘Karydakis’ Publications, Prokopis Karydakis, who, through a comparison with the Marathon run, made an effort to summarize everything that this industry was faced with in the past 15 years.

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL TRADE

The first leg of the Conference dealt with the future of retail trade and digital transformation in the midst of turmoil. Nikos Filippidis, a journalist working for Mega Channel, elaborated on the ‘cross-contamination’ of inflation, the collateral consequences and the trends in a difficult 2023.

Nick Stene, Global Head of Home & Garden, Euromonitor, in his presentation titled “DIY in 2022: Decision Making when Instability is the only Constant”, shared with the audience the findings of the biggest annual survey that was conducted at a European level for the industry and presented to the Greek audience for the very first time.

Panagiotis Gkezerlis,Founder and President, Convert Group, in his presentation titled “E- Commerce in DIY: Creating value through the trader-supplier cooperation’’, shared with participants the e-commerce trends in our country for 2023 and what traders and suppliers can do to improve their e-market shares and e-shelf profitability.

Lyssandros Falireas, Commercial Strategy Senior Manager, efood market, in his presentation titled “DIY meets Quick Commerce”, discussed the differences between q-commerce and e- commerce and the advantages for retail chains and stores from their cooperation with delivery platforms and services so that they can deliver products to consumers very quickly, as well as why q-commerce is the future for DIY & Home Improvement products.

Jamie Anderson, Professor of Strategic Management Antwerp Management School, in his presentation titled “Creative leadership in a complex world”, addressed the audience in a very original and interactive way and urged them to search for alternative ways to enhance staff efficiency and effectiveness.

SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS & PHYGITAL REALITY

The second leg of the 13 th DIY & Home Improvement Conference was dedicated to the Garden market and traditional brick & mortar trade.
Marco OrlandelliCEO, Organizzazione Orlandelli, which is active in garden design, layout and equipment, in the context of a survey titled “Garden Trends 2023”, shared with participants his experience about how the layout of a modern garden centre should be in order to evolve and meet consumer needs.

The panel of speakers had the ‘taste’ of a Michelin star. The Michelin-awarded chef, Tasos Mantis, together with Praktiker Hellas CEO, Dimitris Galanis, Pantelis P. Papadopoulos,and Athens University Plant Ecologist, Dr Antonis Skordilis, outlined the most sustainable ways in which our homes can make the city ‘greener’.

The former President of the Belgian DIY Association and writer, Thierry Coeman, in his presentation titled “Reshaping the Home Improvement Store”, analysed the ways to reshape family and bigger DIY & Home Improvement stores in the future, taking into account social developments and trends in consumer behaviour.

CONSUMERS & CULTURE

In the third leg of the Conference, there was discussion about markets, products and the consumer public. How truly better do we make our homes for everyone? Do our home improvement concerns take into account people with impairments and disabilities? Maryam Sadri, Marketing Director, Praktiker Hellas, presented human-oriented solutions which make everyday life easier for everyone and empower senior citizens or people with mobile, visual or auditory disabilities.

Focus Bari founder, Xenia Kourtoglou, presented the findings of the only survey conducted in Greece for the DIY & Home Improvement market. New consumer trends, Home Improvement projects that are of priority for Greek consumers after price increases, the importance of sustainability and environmental care in their on-shelf end choices, how much they are influenced by influencers and in-store sales people.

The Administrator and President of the Board of “I Pammakaristos” Hospital, Thrassyvoulos Ladopoulos, and Anastasia Skiadopoulou, owner of a store by the same name in Corfu, made references to the Color Bank: a collective action initiative by Vitex and its partners for the delivery of paints, free of charge, to public institutions and hospitals.

Finally, Neil Munz-Zones from the top consultant company mdj2, which is trusted by top international chains, gave participants some food for thought about life beyond Home Improvement and everyday pressures.

DIY PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR

The 13 th DIY & Home Improvement Conference came to end with the awarding of the best ‘’DIY Products of the Year’’, as voted by the readers of ‘mastoremata’ magazine and the users of ‘mastoremata.gr’ website in the past four months:

• ‘Electrical Tools’ category: the wet and dry suction cleaner Kärcher WD 6 P S V.
• ‘Garden Tools and Machinery’ category: the robotic lawn mower Husqvarna Automower 405X.
• ‘Paints-Varnishes’ category: Kraft Paints with its interior paint Asepsis, which ensures top anti-microbial and anti-fungal protection.
• ‘Construction Materials’ category: Roof sealant Neoproof PU Fiber by Neotex.
• The ‘Energy Saving’ Champion was the acrylic plaster in pasty form Vivechrom Top Acrylic: the end protective coating in the Vivechrom Thermoprotect exterior thermal insulation system.
• ‘Innovation’ category: Isomat Zero Paint. The first Greek plastic paint certified with the rigorous Blue Angel ecological certification.

THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WAS PRESENTED TO PANTELIS M. PAPADOPOULOS

TO PANTELIS M. PAPADOPOULOSfounder of ‘Pantelis Papadopoulos SA’, was presented with the “Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his 63 years of contribution to the Home & Garden market.

In 1959, Pantelis M. Papadopoulos, travelled from Athens to Sweden with vision and boldness being his only baggage, together with the ambitious goal of undertaking the Husqvarna dealership. His spirited presence convinced the Swedish company to venture outside the Scandinavian region for the first time and, in December 1962, Pantelis M. Papadopoulos became the first Husqvarna dealer at a global level.

Ever since that day, ‘Pantelis Papadopoulos SA’ has set an extremely upward course and has been an industry leader. It boasts collaborations with more than 24 international plants, selecting top manufacturers from Europe, the United States and Asia, and providing consumers with products, services and solutions that make their occupation with green spaces a truly unique experience..