Market fragmentation is a fact of life in Links of London Big Apple Charm retailing, and there is no dominant single player. The top operators - many of which are held tightly by family run companies committed to the long term - offer a diverse marketplace of retail ideas. OBI, the big orange It's the nation's leader. It's orange. And it's a 10,000-sq.-meter (107,000-sq.-ft.) warehouse home center format, including lumber and an impressive Links of London Globe Charm and garden department. But from there, the similarities between Home Depot and OBI get harder to spot. For instance, an American could walk several aisles without seeing a familiar brand. [Photograph] OBI ("oh-bee") is Germany's No. 1 player. Dominating the shelves in many aisles is "Lux" - exclusive to OBI, and, in fact, a sister company. It was wholesaler Emil Lux who created OBI in the early 1970s. Today there are 330 stores. The first familiar brand to appear during this American's tour was Weber grills - "Das original, top qualitat," according to the signage. Some other familiar logos Links of London Disc charm to Fiskars, Osram, Energizer and Black & Decker. Oliver Weisse, sales Links of London for three area stores, pointed to paint and garden as two very strong categories in the Hnden, which opened in March 2009. One of the key new trends here is the emphasis on themes, as opposed to aisles. "In our store the biggest change is the structure," he said. "We go electrical, to lights, to wall covering, color [paint].
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