OVERVIEW REPORTS SERVICES RESPONSIBILITy 29 Expanding the E/D/E network throughout Europe Cohesion within the E/D/E international network re- lies on constant interaction with our European part- ners. During the pandemic we turned to digital dia- logue formats, such as the new E/D/E studio at our Wuppertal site, which was used to conduct product and catalogue training in seven European languag- es. We continue to support distributors by providing appropriate options for digital customer dialogue. In order to give international E/D/E members the tools to exploit the opportunities of digital transformation themselves, we also support them with process opti- misation, data management, and logistics solutions, mainly provided from the electronic Logistics Centre (eLC). We will also continue to expand our international marketing concepts and product ranges in 2022 in order to push our already successful growth outside Germany. This process will focus on the product are- as of building services, factory equipment, construc- tion equipment, and PPE. We expect the reopening of travel possibilities in 2022, which will in turn lead to new opportunities in sales and acquisitions. While the emphasis has re- cently been on digital communication, physical prox- imity to our international partners will be a key factor again in the future: We will work with international and local partners to convince them of the advantag- es of our services and the association’s benefits, and intend to acquire new cooperation partners, mem- bers and suppliers in the European markets. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its direct im- pact have hit the business of E/D/E members in Euro- pean markets to varying extents. Overall, our inter- national business recorded growth of 19.1 percent in 2021, with more than two-thirds of that growth coming from the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and France. Almost every country saw double-digit growth, with only Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom expe- riencing a decline. The United Kingdom struggled in particular with the impacts of Brexit. The overall positive trend can be attributed to the acquisition of new members and suppliers as well as to the expan- sion of our numerous sales activities. This success in the 26 markets outside Germany was achieved by adapting our proven domestic sales concepts to suit the country in question, and extending collaboration with local and international suppliers. In the course of rolling out successful product ranges and concepts internationally, we seek to meet the requirements of both markets and distributors in the respective country. To ensure we are putting togeth- er successful individualised programmes in the target countries, we continue to consult our international member companies and suppliers. We benefit from our knowledge of individual markets and our wealth of experience with product groups on the domestic German market. For example, the newly developed sales concept “Factory equipment Europe” is in use by more than 70 distributors, in a total of 7 languages and in 12 countries. We intend to establish this concept in even more European markets. We would additionally like to expand our own trademarks at the European level. These include FORTIS PPE, focusing on Poland and the Benelux markets, and the planned expansion of the E-COLL EFFICIENT LINE by extending the prod- uct range for Eastern Europe and Spain. We are also making progress at the technological level. In 2022, we will launch the “Shipping Add-On” in our SAP system for our European business, which will help integrate new transport service providers and improve how we address the needs of European markets. This will reduce dependencies in logistics, which constitutes a crucial advantage in the context of constrained supply chains.