With an eye on Germany too

Where and who is it best to test yourself against? Of course against the strongest, Gertjo Janssen, his title is chief executive officer of Hubo and (still) Multimate, the two Dutch DIY formats by DGN Retail, is convinced. That is why he also made the mother company and its franchisees test the new Hubo format, which is supposed to lead into the future, not just anywhere, but right at the strongest location of the second format Multimate, which is intended to succeed Hubo in the near future. That is why the Multimate DIY store in the Dutch town of Woudenberg (almost 13 000 inhabitants) in the province of Utrecht has also been converted to Hubo's new "test store" and was re-opened in autumn last year. The word "flagship store" does not cross the CEO's lips.
DGN Retail (= Doe-het-zelf Groep Nederland, the Netherlands Do-It-Yourself group), which sees itself as the largest service agency for independent DIY store operators in the Netherlands with its around 230 locations (over 160 Hubos and also around 60 Multimates), has itself belonged to the multi-branch association Euretco since October 2014, in which, in turn, the EK-Servicegroup from Bielefeld is predominantly involved. At that time, DGN Retail even operated three DIY store formats, however Fixet was ultimately discharged as part of the takeover by Euretco as early as in 2015, and now Multimate is following.
The concentration on one brand and one format, the radical reconfiguration of the product range, the fusing of core customer groups, the realignment within management as well as a new corporate philosophy are radical breaks for a DIY store format, which in the past has occasionally acted more sedately, but at other times also somewhat erratically. Hubo - the name is an abbreviation of "Houthandel Utrecht Bedrijven Organisatie" - may be the oldest DIY store operator in the Netherlands (founded in 1969), but what is that worth today when sales channels are weakening and competition is getting increasingly stronger? Hubo as brand and format changed owners several times between the 1970s and 2000s; different sales channels were tested, merged with other formats or closed. That's not what continuity and stringency looks like.
For Gertjo Janssen one thing is sure: "Many retailers in the DIY field will lose in the fight for customers because they aren't any different to their competitors." To not be interchangeable or too arbitrary, to be characteristic and unique: these are the new goals at Hubo. Dutch…