Shrinking sales

At a total of C $ 40.29 bn, the sales generated by Canada’s retail home improvement industry in 2008 were 1.5 per cent down on the previous year, according to the Canadian Hardlines news service. This is the first drop in sales since 1996, when Hardlines first began to track the industry. Signs of the decline have been evident since 2007, when growth came to no more than 4.7 per cent, following annual growth rates of 6 – 8 per cent.