The New Wave: GROHE QuickFix in Berlin
Robert Friedl – QuickFix comes of age
Continuing our tour of the big events shaping our industry, The New Wave comes to you from the 9th annual DIY Summit in Berlin, where we were delighted to grab some time with Robert Friedl, Leader DIY Channel for LIXIL EMENA. Obviously the home improvement market is huge for GROHE and particularly for our QuickFix sub-brand, so this is a great opportunity for us to take the temperature of a vitally important sector for our whole business, in the company of our strategy lead.
They call this the top networking event for the DIY world, and with more than one thousand participants gathered representing DIY retail, wholesale and manufacturing businesses globally, the DIY summit certainly lives up to its billing. The theme this year is “Visions of DIY in the Age of Uncertainty”, which is something GROHE has been working on for a while. We recognised early that people’s ideas of home have been undergoing a quiet revolution, accelerated by the pandemic years, towards concepts of personal space where all aspects of life – family, personal, professional – can be explored. From that recognition it is a small step to see the new importance for consumers of being able to put their personal touch on their home space. QuickFix has been created to expand the whole concept of DIY – who is it for, what results are expected, how much personal investment is needed – for a whole new generation.
Moving with the times is all part of being a successful enterprise. Events like the DIY Summit are so important for the opportunity they offer to share ideas, get inspired and build partnerships. Sure, we want to be competitive, and we know our competitors want to get an advantage over us, just like we do with them. That’s business! But it’s good to be reminded that we operate within an economic and social model that is common to us all. We face many of the same challenges, so the lessons we learn and the solutions we invent are good for all of us. A big part of the GROHE brand DNA is knowing when an issue needs collective action and shared thinking to be tackled successfully. That’s why it’s so great to be here as part of our industry community – we’re finding ways forward together.
We know Robert has a fantastic portfolio of GROHE products to show off here. And with Leader LIXIL EMENA and Co-CEO GROHE AG Jonas Brennwald one of the main speakers to offer his personal take on the Summit’s theme, GROHE is enjoying a big presence in Berlin. It must be so exciting and satisfying for Robert to see his team’s efforts over several years now emerging as part of these big global trends. Let’s hear from him…
