The continuous conference

The particular attraction of the Global DIY-Summit is the networking - the opportunity to make direct contact with over 1 000 decision-makers in the DIY and garden sector, to converse with them, exchange opinions and maybe enjoy a couple of beers with them. The organisers, the international retail and manufacturing associations Edra/Ghin and Hima, have worked hard to make this event exactly what it is: the 100 per cent, high-level networking event of the sector on an international scale.It is precisely this, the real benefit of this event - what lies at the heart of it - that Covid-19 has rendered impossible this year: travelling to meet people from all over the world is not going to happen. For the organisers this posed a major problem: how to avoid the exchange of information grinding to a halt. How could they close the gap in communication caused by the disruption to the annual staging of the summit in 2020?Edra/Ghin and Hima were quick to announce a digital solution to the problem, and now it is here: the Global DIY-Network is up and running. The platform offers retailers and manufacturers in the home improvement and garden sector worldwide a digital opportunity to exchange information. It also aims to be more than just a streaming portal for videos of presentations. With its opportunities for interaction and contact, it is more like a protracted online con­ference that will continue until the "real" summit takes place in Copen­hagen.Over the coming months, a host of online lectures and discussions will be presented on the platform www.diysummit.org. Edra general secretary John Herbert will talk to the heads of DIY store groups across the world, for example. Entitled "Meet the CEO", interviews are to be aired with the CEOs of leading home improvement retailers from all over the world."It is your opportunity to get to know the CEOs and to learn more about their companies," says Herbert, inviting users of the platform to take advantage of this special information offering. The programme kicks off with a discussion with Sergio Giroldi of Obi in Germany, who is also president of Edra/Ghin. John Herbert's other interviewees are Werner de Jager of South African outfit Cashbuild, Declan Ronayne of Woodie's DIY in Ireland, Michael Schneider of the Australian Bunnings company, Hiro­masa Tsuchiya of Cainz in Japan, Mattias Ankarberg of Sweden's Byggmax, Veronica Valdez of Promart in Peru and Thierry Garnier of the UK's Kingfisher Group.Under the heading of "The…