Cautious French

DIY stores in France recorded a significant decline in sales in 2024. Their total sales fell by 4.3 percent to €22.1 billion. The two industry associations FMB (retail) and Inoha (manufacturers) have calculated these figures for the past year. They emphasize that the industry is still well above the pre-coronavirus level of around €20 billion in 2019.

Without online sales, the decline in sales would probably have been even more severe. Sales in brick-and-mortar stores fell by 4.5 percent, while online sales declined by 1.4 percent. As a result, the share of total sales accounted for by online sales rose from 5.4 percent in the previous year to 5.6 percent in 2024.

The French DIY market is highly concentrated. The four largest DIY store groups together account for 97.5 percent of the market. The market leader Leroy Merlin has an even more dominant position, with a market share of 40 percent. Including the two retail chains Bricoman and Weldom, the parent company Adeo accounts for half of DIY store sales in France. Kingfisher, with its Castorama and Brico Dépôt chains, accounts for only a quarter. The remaining quarter is divided unevenly between the Les Mousquetaires and Mr. Bricolage groups.

All four major DIY groups lost sales last year, with the two leading groups, Adeo and Kingfisher, experiencing similar declines when compared to the 2023 figures published a year ago. Leroy Merlin ended the year with a decline of 5.0 percent. Sales at the Bricoman building materials distribution chain slumped by 4.5 percent. A positive highlight for Adeo is the Weldom chain, which recorded an increase of 6.5 percent.

Castorama, the French main distribution chain of the British Kingfisher Group, lost 6.5 percent. Brico Dépôt recorded a decline of 5.2 percent.

The DIY stores of the Les Mousquetaires group (14.5 percent market share) lost less overall in percentage terms, namely 2.1 percent. This is due to the good performance of the three smaller retail chains Bricorama, Batkor, and Tridôme, which gained 9.0 percent. In contrast, the main retail chain Bricomarché lost 4.3 percent, and Bricocash is down 6.0 percent on the previous year.

The smallest of the four major groups – Mr. Bricolage – has a market share of 8 percent. It lost 7.0 percent in sales, mainly due to the poor performance of the Briconautes sales chain, which lost 11.0 percent. The stores under the Mr. Bricolage brand saw a 5.1 percent decline in sales.

Overall, all product groups recorded losses. Paints and…