In the competition’s quarry

With a healthy dose of self-confidence, the Chairmen of the Executive Board, Albrecht Hornbach and Erich Harsch, along with Executive Board member Joanna Kowalska, addressed the press in mid-May in the large conference room at DZ Bank in Frankfurt. The reason is simple: once again, Hornbach was able to announce significantly better results than its competitors. This was particularly striking in the 2025/26 financial year. Whilst the sector as a whole had to contend with a decline in 2025 and the larger German competitors Bauhaus and Obi recorded annual growth rates of 1.9 and 0.5 per cent respectively, the Hornbach Group achieved an above-average increase of 3.8 per cent to €6.434 billion in its last financial year.

Sales at the DIY stores grew even more strongly than the Group’s turnover, rising by 4.0 per cent to €6.082 billion across Europe in the period from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2026. In Germany, DIY store sales rose by 2.3 per cent to €2.849 billion, and in the rest of Europe by 5.5 per cent to €3.233 billion.

For the current 2026/27 financial year, the Palatinate-based company expects net turnover to be at or slightly above the level of the previous financial year. “We are looking forward with confidence to the current 2026/27 financial year, even though the market environment remains challenging. The European DIY market is structurally attractive and offers high demand potential, particularly in Eastern Europe,” explained Albrecht Hornbach, Chief Executive of Hornbach Management AG. “Against this backdrop, we are consistently pursuing our growth strategy and making targeted investments in new sites, digitalisation and operational excellence. However, we remain cautious in our forecast. Whilst the spring season has got off to a promising start so far, it is to be expected that current geopolitical developments will have a negative impact on cost trends and demand in the retail sector,” said Hornbach.

Erich Harsch, Chief Executive of Hornbach Baumarkt AG, placed particular emphasis on the issue of pricing: "Hornbach stands for reliability – especially in an economically challenging environment. The promise to be the lowest-priced provider and to focus on permanently low prices, rather than offering short-term discount campaigns, is a matter of course for us, particularly in these times."

According to the group, 12.7 per cent of DIY store turnover was generated via online channels, including Click & Collect. Compared with the previous year…