EDRA points to new members, including Lowe's

The European DIY-Retail Association (EDRA) added seven new members in 2011, bringing the latest tally to 92 home center companies. 

In its end-of-year message, EDRA General Secretary John W. Herbert, described the day-to-day routine of the group, now in its second year as an independent association. "We are heavily involved at our Cologne office dealing with the increasing number of network inquiries from our members, which include company and store visits, statistics, best practices and trends."

Among the new members was Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's, which joined EDRA's Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN) in 2011, along with RONA (Canada), EASY (Chile), JSC Start (Russia) and Tekzen (Turkey). Other new members to join EDRA in 2011 were Comeos (the Belgian Association) and Praktis (Bulgaria). 

The EDRA pointed to the 2nd European Home Improvement Forum in Paris May 31 to June 1. The association is expecting more than 500 executives from all over Europe to attend. Gille Caille, president of Unibal and co-founder of fediyma, will receive a Lifetime Award during the forum.