Foundation of a Sales Company for Gardena
Gardena Gmbh, Ulm, is a 100% subsidiary of Swedish Husqvarna Group. With about 420 million € turnover Gardena is the European market leader for gardening equipment.
As from 2000 the DIY sector has grown rapidly in China. International and local DIY groups (OBI, B&Q, Homemart a.o.), which form an important customer group for Gardena, opened huge DIY markets in the Chinese megacities. Against this background the opening up of the Chinese market was of high importance for Gardena.
In the first phase, GARDENA put FE in charge of a research into the marketability of selected products from the GARDENA gardening product range in China. In this context, leading Do-It-Yourself companies in China were consulted, as well as distributors with industrial experience in various regions. This was followed by negotiations between the export managers of GARDENA AG and the purchase managers of Do-It-Yourself stores and the potential distributors selected by FE.
As a result of the market research and the local discussions, GARDENA decided to establish its own subsidiary in Shanghai. Upon the request of GARDENA, FE selected appropriate locations for it, carried out the foundation and recruited employees for the new subsidiary in Shanghai. After intensive training in Ulm the GARDENA Shanghai team has been engaged in the establishment of sales in Do-It-Yourself stores and through regional distributors since April 2002.
