Growth in Germany

According to a BHB/GfK report, the DIY retailers in Germany increased their gross sales by 4.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year (+2.3 per cent like-for-like). In the first nine months their sales grew by 1.5 per cent to € 13.7 bn (+0.2 per cent like-for-like). Nearly all product ranges saw their sales improve. The greatest amount of growth in the first three quarters was achieved by live plants (+7.1 per cent) plus garden furniture and decorative items for the garden (4.9 per cent). Heavy losses were experienced by timber, which also includes synthetic materials (-4.6 per cent). The trend was also downward for several other product categories: leisure, handicrafts and hobbies, wallpaper, flooring and interior decoration.