Poor garden year

France's DIY stores were able to growth their garden business only slightly in 2007. They recorded sales of € 1.815 bn, which comes to an increase of 1.5 per cent over the previous year. This amounts to a drop of 0.2 per cent when adjusted for inflation, according to the latest market survey from Unibal, the French DIY manufacturers' association. The growth figures for the preceding years were considerably higher: the DIY stores achieved a sales increase of 5.9 per cent in 2006, and 4.3 per cent in 2005.