Hardware
Hardware is a common collective term in medium-sized retail . There is no legal, standardized or otherwise officially defined definition. In the specialist terminology of the retail trade , the term refers to various groups of goods , including traditionally the hardware groups ( tools , fittings , fasteners, security technology, home improvement supplies, small electrical appliances, sanitary articles and industrial safety and gardening tools ), as well as household items (glass, porcelain, cutlery, fitted kitchens, Large household appliances).
The branch in Germany is represented by the Central Hardware Association (ZHH). Larger retail chains and groups of DIY stores are not organized in this association.
The traditional trade fair location for this trade in Germany is Frankfurt.
The first specialized wholesaler for these groups of goods was Purchasing Association Nordwest GmbH (today Nordwest Hagen ).
Word origin
The term is an Anglicism , but is not derived from hardware , but from hard goods . In the English language, hard goods or durable goods are goods that are not consumed immediately (i.e. consumer goods ). In contrast, the stand softgoods consumable for immediate goods, ie consumer goods .
Use in Germany has been documented since the 1960s. Initially, however, the term was used for all household goods outside the textile sector, deviating from the original meaning. While the differentiation from textile goods used to be important for the specialized retail trade , with the change of the retail trade towards large department stores today the differentiation from foodstuffs has priority. The collective term non-food items has therefore established itself in retail and is used synonymously.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information from the ZHH at http://www.zhh.de/
- ↑ Broder Carstensen, Ulrich Busse: Anglizismen -verzeichnis, 2001, ISBN 9783110171693 , page 624, online