2019 - Dublin

In 2019 the 7th Global DIY Summit took place at the exquisite Convention Centre Dublin. Over 1,000 industry leaders from 55 countries joined us in Dublin.

Following a store tour of Dublin, in which delegates visited some exceptionally well managed stores, the Global DIY Summit kicked-off with a Get Together at the number one tourist attraction in Ireland; the Guinness Store House.

This motto in Dublin was “DIY EVOLUTION – Designing the Future Together”. The speakers gave outstanding presentations on innovation, digital platforms as new business models worldwide, how to prepare your team to embrace digital transformation, Asia as a new innovation leader worldwide, political and economic forecasts, DIY logistics and a global overview of home improvement stores around the world.

Watch the highlights of the 7th Global DIY Summit below

Watch the highlights of the 6th Global DIY Summit below

2018 - Barcelona

In 2018 the 6th Global DIY Summit took place at Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona. 1,100 delegates from 55 countries attended the Summit in 2018.

The 2018 motto was “DIY NEXT – Reinventing our industry”, with speakers presenting on a range of topic, including digital transformations and digital platforms as new business models, political and economic forecasts, and the need for more strategic partnerships between suppliers and retailers.

The high expectations for the presentation of the head of strategic business development of The Home Depot, Matt Schweickert, were met with his impressive keynote “Home Improvement in the Age of Retail Disruption”.

During the course of the event, the Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2018 was presented to Damien Deleplanque, former CEO at ADEO. The International award was presented by organisers at the Gala dinner at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

2017 - Berlin

In 2017 the 5th Global DIY Summit took place at the Maritim hotel in Berlin, Germany. More than 1,000 participants attended the 5th Global DIY Summit.

Under the motto “‘A New Era – A Glimpse into the Future of Home Improvement”, delegates met to discuss the latest developments in the home improvement industry, with a Keynote given by Sergio Giroldi, CEO of OBI.

Jim Inglis, an international icon in the DIY industry, present the farewell speech on the Paradigm Shift - New Growth Through Service Competence.

The Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2017 was presented to Gregory M. Bridgeford, former Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Customer Officer of Lowe’s with the laudation provided by Richard Maltsbarger, Chief Development Officer and President International at Lowe’s.

2016 - Stockholm

In 2016 the 4th Global DIY Summit took place at the wonderful Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre in Sweden.

Under the motto “‘A Distruptive World - New Trends in Home Improvement”, delegates were able to enjoy 2 days of thought-provoking and future-orinetated keynotes and presentations on the industry. The keynote was given by then CEO of Kingfisher Véronique Laury on Customer First Disruptive Innovation. John Gilliam, Managing Director of Bunnings at the time, also provided an excellent presentation on Leadership Matters.

The Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2016 was presented to Prof. Klaus Fischer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fischer Holding GmbH & Co. KG in the same venue as the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, Stockholm Concert Hall.

2015 - London

In 2015 the 3rd Global DIY Summit took place in London, UK.

"Retail Revolution - The Future of Home Improvement" - was the motto of the 2015 Global DIY Summit.

The congress kicked off with a store tour through Greater London with stops at B&Q, Screwfix, Wickes and Homebase. The industry summit in London was all about the event motto "Retail Revolution - The Future of Home Improvement". The international DIY industry also discussed the topic of "Innovation 4.0": Numerous high-ranking representatives and decision-makers from the European and international DIY trade debated the new challenges of integrating strategic and technological developments into their own business processes.

The Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2015 was presented to Jim Inglis, former Home Depot Executive Vice President responsible for Merchandsing, Marketing, and Logistics. In the historic Guildhall, laudator Sandro Solari, Group CEO of Falabella, Sodimac's parent company, highlighted the merits of the awardee and honored Inglis as "white knight and lord of the home centers"

2014 - Madrid

In 2014 the 2nd Global DIY Summit took place in Madrid, Spain.

The Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2014 was presented to Ray Colman, former CEO of Woodie’s DIY. The award ceremony took place during the Congress Gala Dinner in the Bernabéu stadium in Madrid. “DIY is in my blood”, avowed Colman in a very personal acceptance speech. The laudation was given by Carl Otto Løvenskiold, CEO and owner of Løvenskiold - Vaekerø AS, Norway.

“When I heard that I had been selected to receive the DIY Lifetime Award I was delighted, honored and truly mortified to see such distinguished past recipients as Manfred Maus, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, Gilles Caille and Pat Farrah. I was also delighted for Woodie's DIY and all my colleagues who have inspired me with their support over the years,” said Colman of EDRA and Fediyma's decision.

2013 - Rome

In 2013 the Global DIY Summit took place in Rome, Italy, under the motto “Multi-Channel - The changing face of home and garden improvement”.

Ian Chesire, then Group CEO of Kingfisher, and Sergio Giroldi, CEO of OBI, opened the discussion with two key-note presentations.

The Global DIY-Lifetime Award 2012 was presented to Prof. Manfred Maus, the co-founder and previous CEO of OBI. The laudatory speech was given by Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy, former CEO of Kingfisher and himself a winner of the DIY Lifetime Award. In his speech, he outlined how Prof. Manfred Maus played a key role in the introduction and development of large-scale DIY stores in Germany and Europe. Among other things, he emphasized the franchise idea promoted by Prof. Maus and the anchoring of the garden business in the DIY trade. Of course he addressed what Prof. Manfred Maus himself always described as one of the key points of his success: his “love for women” – and of course the award winner picked up on this keyword in his short acceptance speech. "It's a women's business," he said. "Women really understand what happens at home."

In his acceptance speech Prof. Manfred Maus also emphasized the importance of values ​​in business life: "The difference between a good and an excellent company is management based on values."