Grown with their customers

How has the economic sector DIY store and garden developed from the point of view of the manufacturer? 
Jean-Éric Riche: Our association has 250 members who are active in the entire DIY and garden industry. This includes members who work solely for DIY megastores, and others, who work for both the DIY market as well as for the professional sector. The industry is affected by the fact that the economic situation in construction has been declining for around three years. In contrast to this, the DIY market is very stable.

The advantage these manufacturers have is their proximity. Production has followed the development of the DIY market in recent years. So there are many companies who have been active for a very long time. They have understood how to adjust their assortment in accordance with the development of home improvement.
The French market is now the second largest in Europe after Germany. So it is a very mature market, and production has developed in the same way and has grown up with it.
The difficulty we face today is the fact that the European market has globalised. We are now entering the phase of massification in terms of purchasing operations. The retail groups tend to offer unified assortments in the different countries where they are engaged.
French production has profited from this growth. The challenge for today's manufacturers is to adjust to globalisation and to expand their ability to be able to deliver across the whole of Europe.

There are no precise figures on this. But it is clear that exporting has strongly developed because French DIY store operators in many countries have become active. So most manufacturers have followed their French customers abroad.

What are the most important foreign markets?
The first is Spain, then Poland and Russia, and then there's Italy too. Because these countries, when looking at sales figures, have more or less taken over the French standard. In comparison, Great Britain is a very special case and has a very protected market. Germany too.

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