Trend towards more valuable products

The Bosch Power Tools business unit notched up sales of € 239 mio in the garden tools division last year. That is seven per cent more than the previous year. A full 81 per cent of these sales was generated in western Europe (rate of increase: seven per cent), while eleven per cent came from eastern Europe (plus eight per cent). Bosch makes nearly one-third (31 per cent) of its sales in the garden sector from cordless tools. The company’s market share of the European electric garden tools market rose in 2011 by one percentage point to 25 per cent. “As the market leader in Europe since 2009 we have yet again grown faster than the market,” states Henning von Boxberg, the member of the executive management with responsibility for the sales and marketing of DIY and gardening tools. According to Bosch figures, the overall European market for electric garden tools grew again for the first time since 2009, by five per cent to a total of € 881 mio. The fact that, at the same time, the volume dropped by three per cent to 13.2 mio units indicates “that we have a trend towards more valuable products,” as von Boxberg explains. By contrast, the market in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was downward last year. The volume of tools sold fell by five per cent to 2.55 mio units, while sales were down by three per cent to € 284 mio. The scenario announced for this year is more positive. Following sales growth in April that amounted to three per cent, growth came to eight per cent above the previous year’s result at the end of the first six months. Volume growth amounted to just two per cent. Bosch bucked the 2011 market trend in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) by achieving a sales increase of three per cent and so increasing the company’s market share to 25 per cent. The market share in German DIY stores went up by three percentage points to 33 per cent. The importance of innovation is a topic that is constantly emphasised at Bosch. Last year 39 per cent of all sales were generated by products less than two years old. Cordless technology is a key topic for Bosch. Cordless garden tools increased their market share from 17 to 20 per cent between 2008 and 2011. This market is dominated by lithium-ion technology, which claims a 73 per cent share of the garden market. Bosch is market leader in the lithium-ion segment with a share of 43 per cent. Download: