Difficult start to the DIY year

The large-format DIY and builder stores in Germany achieved gross sales of approximately € 3.8 bn from January to March 2008. This means that the DIY retailers dropped 5.8 per cent below last year’s figure (and -6.9 per cent like-for-like). These results come from the BHB DIY panel, computed jointly with GfK Marketing Services. Sales in nearly all product categories of the DIY store range went down in the first three months: building materials and chemicals -5.7 per cent, hardware and security systems -8.5 per cent, tools and machinery -9.3 per cent, coatings and accessories -4.8 per cent, and wallpaper, floor coverings and interior decoration -3.3 per cent. Plants and garden hardware recorded a two-figure decrease in the first quarter.