Achim Kleinwächter one: Achim, the core message of your spring campaign is "DIY is the beginning of Sustainability". Can you briefly explain to us what DIY has to do with Sustainability?

Achim Kleinwächter: Well, first of all, it's about "getting started". We want to inspire and motivate our customers to simply get started and, above all, to have fun taking the first step in their DIY project. At toom, we have always focussed on making things easy. DIY in particular requires this motivation.

And that's exactly what Sustainability is all about. It's the small beginnings, the first steps, that will get us to our goal together and in the future. To break it down, you could say that DIY is the beginning of Sustainability. Because you can already make a difference here: repairing instead of buying new, renovating for energy efficiency, making something new from something old and, where possible, choosing products that are more sustainable.

At toom, we already stand out as one of, if not the most sustainable DIY store in Germany. The campaign is the logical step here and combines DIY and Sustainability.

one: The trend towards DIY has increased since coronavirus. The home has become the centre of life and often also the centre of work. A lot of money has been invested in beautifying flats, houses, balconies and gardens. Is that still the case?

Achim Kleinwächter : The coronavirus pandemic in particular and the associated restrictions have naturally led to people focussing more on their own homes. The trend is continuing, as crises are unfortunately on the rise. War, energy, climate - of course, we are all very worried about all of this. This is accompanied by the impulse to make ourselves cosy at home. The start of the spring season is always very important for the DIY sector.

one: Has the target group for DIY changed?

Achim Kleinwächter : The main thing that has changed is that more and more people are coming into contact with DIY. At the same time, the need to do things yourself - whether financially or out of necessity - is growing. At the same time, the understanding and awareness of Sustainability as a whole has grown. It's no longer about individual seals on products, but about showing customers that we take a responsible approach to packaging, species protection, climate-friendly products and, last but not least, the entire supply chain.

For us, this naturally means that we have to communicate DIY differently - offering more how-tos, supporting and advising customers more, providing assistance and at the same time communicating all the things we do in the right way.

one: toom is investing heavily in Sustainability in the plants and DIY segment. Recently, 22 more pesticides were phased out in favour of more environmentally friendly products. The latest campaign is a cooperation with the waste disposal service provider Curanto, which helps DIY enthusiasts to dispose of the resulting waste properly. What's next on the agenda?

Achim Kleinwächter: First and foremost, we are a retail company that takes care of more than 18,000 employees. At the same time, we have firmly anchored the topic of Sustainability in our strategy, which really defines us and is deeply ingrained. In other words, our customers are at the centre of everything we do. We align ourselves with their wishes and try to find the best way forward in various areas. For example, with the waste disposal company Curanto or our pilot project in Cologne with HomeRide. Here I can order products that are then delivered to my home by cargo bike within a very short time.

We are also focussing on the consistent expansion of our more sustainable product range. On the one hand, it's about offering customers more sustainable alternatives and, on the other, showing a clear edge and - if necessary - discontinuing products. That's part of our responsibility!

one: How does toom assess the development opportunities for "green" products in the DIY store?

Achim Kleinwächter: The development is unstoppable. A lot is still possible, especially in the product range. It doesn't always have to be the big things. However, if we look at the topic of packaging, we can improve a lot here ourselves with our own brands, but also the suppliers. There will certainly never be a completely green toom, but we are always working on initiating topics, sensitising customers and supporting suppliers.