17th DIY store and garden center in the Netherlands opens today in Enschede / Around 150 employees on hand to offer advice and services / Overall, Hornbach invests around Euro 33 million in the location
Enschede / Bornheim, March 30, 2022. In the presence of Mayor Roelof Bleker, at 7 a.m. today Hornbach opened its DIY megastore and garden center with a building material drive-in facility in the Dutch city of Enschede. The store is located directly on the central exit from the A35 and easily accessible for customers both from Overijssel Province and from locations in Westphalia just over the border in Germany. On total sales areas of 17,000 square meters*, customers have access to Hornbach’s enormous product range, currently comprising 120,000 articles in the Netherlands. Around 150 employees are on hand to offer advice and services. Overall, the long-established and family-run company has invested Euro 33 million in the land, building, and fittings for the store.
“Hornbach is continuing to grow successfully in the Netherlands, and that consistently and at an impressive pace. Enschede is not only our 17th DIY megastore and garden center here, but also the eighth new opening in just seven years. We aim to press ahead with this organic growth. Our stores are just as popular as ever with Dutch customers and our sales performance is very pleasing, also when compared with the overall sector”, commented Karin Dohm, CFO of Hornbach Baumarkt AG, upon the store opening. Preparations are already underway for the 18th location, in this case in Nijmegen, not far from the German region of Lower Rhine, where Hornbach intends to open another DIY megastore and garden center with a drive-in facility in 2023. That will be the third store in Gelderland Province.
Cutting-edge store, expert advice, and bespoke services
As well as the building material drive-in facility, where customers can load heavy or bulky goods directly from the shelves into their vehicles, the Enschede store also offers an inspiring bathroom and kitchen center, a large garden division with an extensive range of pet products, and numerous other specialist departments. Evert de Goede, Hornbach’s Country Director in the Netherlands, was thrilled by the new, state-of-the art location and warmly praised the whole team for their energetic support, which had played a key part in enabling the store to open just 13 months after construction work began, and that despite tougher conditions due to the pandemic. “And our 150-strong team is now on hand to support our customers just as energetically, with expert advice and bespoke projects for all projects in their houses, apartments, and gardens”, he continued. “Our professional advisors at the store will see to the needs of numerous trades-people and other businesses in the region. They can plan requirements, take orders, prepare goods for speedy collection, or organize deliveries to building sites.”
Permanent low-price guarantee valid even after purchase since start of year
Store Manager Jeroen Christenhusz pointed out on the opening day that most of the 120,000 articles offered by Hornbach in the Netherlands were directly available at his store, and that in generously stocked project volumes. “Our store is heaven on earth for home improvement fans, with a selection of products that is unmatched anywhere in the region. Via terminals or their smartphones, customers can also order further articles that are not on our shelves from our online shop and have them delivered to their homes or the store. And they can rely on always getting the best price, now even after their purchase.” Should the price of an article be reduced within 30 days of purchase, customers have the difference automatically credited to their digital accounts without having to make an application. Hornbach introduced this extension to its permanent low price guarantee in Germany and is gradually mapping it onto other countries. Since 2022, it has taken effect in the Netherlands as well.
Location to be operated on an energy-neutral basis
After the store in Apeldoorn, opened in October 2021, Enschede is now the second location in the Netherlands which Hornbach intends to operate on a largely energy-neutral basis. Part of the 1,000 megawatt hours of electricity generated each year by more than 3,000 solar collectors on the roof of the store would also be fed into the public grid, stressed Country Director Evert de Goede. Sustainability had also played a major role in planning and building the store, he added.
The Hornbach store in Enschede is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
* Weighted by BHB sector association standard: around 12,900 square meters
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