SHERIDAN, WYOMING - November 27, 2025 - The 26th BHB-Baumarktkongress in Bonn has brought together a record number of DIY retail leaders this week, as 509 executives from trade, industry and service providers gather under the former Bundestag's Federal Eagle to discuss how the home improvement sector can navigate prolonged consumer caution and reshape its future.
Full House in Bonn as the "Branchenfamilie" Regroups
The World Conference Center Bonn, long the favorite venue of the "Branchenfamilie", is more than full this year-an indicator of how urgent the need for strategic exchange has become. For the third year in a row, the long-awaited turnaround for the DIY and garden trade has not yet materialized, and the sector is collectively searching for new synergies and concepts to counter hesitant consumer spending.
The congress marks the premiere of new BHB board spokesperson Peter Abraham, who struck both thoughtful and optimistic notes in his opening address. Drawing on his passion for diving, he highlighted the values the sector now needs most: Fokussierung, Konzentration auf das Ziel, unbedingte Verlässlichkeit, keine unnötigen Risiken und ein Miteinander auf Augenhöhe. Finance board member Susanne Jäger and BHB CEO and congress moderator Dr. Peter Wüst reinforced the call to use the association as a strong, shared platform, emphasizing that a fundamentally healthy industry can better withstand challenges such as "unnötige Regulatorik" if it moves in "Schulterschluss".
Radical Confidence, New "Wir" and a Long-Term Climate Project
A central leitmotif of Day 1 was the question of mindset. Futurist Tristan Horx argued for „Radikale Zuversicht" as an antidote to the perceived "Krisen-Übermacht". He stressed that optimism must not be naïve-future developments are not linear-and that society needs to reconnect "zwischen Utopie und Weltuntergang", learning again to combine wisdom and rebellion. His core message: „Zukunft entsteht, wenn Beziehungen gelingen".
BHB also positioned sustainability as an "eternal" future project. Dr. Peter Wüst and Alain Paul from HolzConCert reported that the association's tree-planting initiative has now surpassed 200,000 trees, a milestone whose climate impact, they argued, cannot be overestimated. The campaign is deliberately individualized to donors, making climate action both tangible and emotionally rewarding for retailers and suppliers alike.
AI, Digital Transformation and New Competitive Dynamics in DIY
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence played a starring role. Agnes Bührmann and Jana Kasper from Publicis Sapient outlined a roadmap for "nachhaltige Digitalisierung" of the sector, enabling a structured "Modernisierungsturbo" for increasingly complex KI-Landschaften inside DIY organizations.
Building on this, Prof. Dr. Arnold Weissmann presented his "Agenda 2035", defining the capabilities future winners must master. Digital transformation, he argued, is non-negotiable: what can be digitized will be digitized, but must be anchored in Grundvertrauen and human-centric values. Only the intelligent combination of people, technology and IT will allow the industry to manage growing complexity.
Strategic implications for the Retail & Consumer Goods Industry were sharpened further by Dr. Tim Wirtz (Kompetenzplattform KI NRW), who showed how KI, robotics and data-based programs can strengthen customer proximity. From localized stadium advertising to AI-based car configuration tools, he demonstrated how "Emotionen quasi quantifizieren" and how KI-Agenten will become crucial guidelines for DIY markets in a landscape where „Präferiert wird im Kopf, gekauft im Moment".
Technology, Loyalty and Media: From Shelf to Heart
In a highly practical contribution, Hornbach CTO Dr. Andreas Schobert traced a "Gedankenspiel für einen Beziehungsaufbau zwischen Mensch, Prozess und Technologie" from the company's expansion after the 1989 border opening to the latest KI-Tools. Through iconic advertising, early web-shop innovations and entertaining examples of robotics and autonomous vehicles, he showed how technology can trigger genuine emotional engagement rather than remain a dry back-end topic.
Handel expert Prof. Dr. Carsten Kortum then focused on the next stage of customer loyalty, under the title „Vom Regal in Herz". Loyalty programs, he argued, must go far beyond simple point-collecting to offer "passende Personalisierung", which he called the "Währung der Zukunft". While apps from major DIY chains are widely used, many customers still feel "verwaltet" rather than understood. Retail Media, combined with smart solutions such as "SmartKarts", can become a new Umsatzmotor-if retailers manage to stage relevant brand experiences instead of generic advertising.
Political Backdrop, Innovation Pressure and Shifting Channels
The broader macro and political context was addressed by RTL politics chief Nikolaus Blome, who offered a pointed assessment of the Merz government's performance and warned that pension reform „sie könnte diese Regierung sogar zum Scheitern gebracht haben, wenn wir uns nächstes Jahr hier wiedersehen". In the closing panel "It's all about Innovation - da war sich dann auch die abschließende Gesprächsrunde des Tages eini", Blome joined experts from consulting (Felix Muxel), industry (Björn Watzlawik, Bosch Powertools) and retail (Toom CEO Jochen Vogel) to debate how much Veränderungsbereitschaft and speed the German economy is really willing to accept.
Day 2 shifted into an explicitly operational gear. Veteran market analyst Klaus Teipel delivered a sober outlook: DIY markets remain in the red in real terms since 2021, while other channels and particularly the crafts sector have grown. Discounter and Pure Player models are gaining ground, with E-Commerce now accounting for 9.3% of DIY assortments, and price sensitivity shaping a new competitive field that includes restposten outlets and food/non-food discounters. Teipel's base case for 2026 is "Mini-Wachstum" of 0.2% for DIY versus 0.5% for the overall economy, contingent on sector players improving online fulfilment, service quality and pricing, and showing more "Experimentierfreude und Risikobereitschaft".
Masterclasses and Lifetime Award Underscore Community and Execution
The congress also offered a dense program of "Masterclasses" that translated strategic topics into concrete operating guidelines. Participants could choose from seven areas, ranging from POS digitalization, recommerce and circular economy to logistics trends, crisis strategies and the use of Mafo & KI to understand and influence customer behavior. Formats included, for example, a live recording of the logistics podcast „Hätte, Hätte Lieferkette" with Hornbach logistics board member Ingo Leiner, and sessions on new business models such as rental and leasing concepts.
At the same time, the sector celebrated its own role models. The DIY Lifetime Award went to entrepreneur Klaus Meffert, honored by Hornbach board member Susanne Jäger in a highly personal laudation that highlighted shared values and four decades of collaboration. A ten-minute video featuring friends, business partners, staff and even Bundestagspräsidentin Julia Klöckner culminated in standing ovations on board the MS Rheinmagie.
Motivational speaker and entrepreneur Carsten Fuchs closed the congress with the message „Zukunft wird aus Mut gemacht", encouraging participants to tackle the coming years with courageous, unconventional planning and to rely on traditional strengths, collective development and a willingness to "machen, experimentieren, ausprobieren", as summarized in Dr. Peter Wüst's closing words.
For full congress information and association resources, visit www.bhb.org.