Down on last year

A BHB/GfK report, which records the sales figures of the major building and DIY stores in Germany, reveals a like-for-like sales decrease of 4.8 per cent for the first quarter of 2009. Even though the DIY companies had to accept what were at times considerable sales shortfalls in the first two months, like-for-like sales in March rose by an average of 1.2 per cent on the same period last year. This up-to-date BHB/GfK report provides evidence of increasing sales in the categories of plumbing elements, interior work and drywall construction, as well as wallpaper, paint, lamps and lighting. This in turn throws light upon the DIY projects that are on consumers’ agendas.