Europe and the crisis

In 2009 sales of do-it-yourself products were down in the majority of countries in Europe. According to information from EDRA, the European DIY Retail Association, a comparison of the like-for-like sales trends reveals that it was the countries of eastern and southern Europe that suffered most from the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. While Austria (+3.1 per cent), Belgium (+1.0 per cent) and Germany (+0.7 per cent) can point to positive results, France (-2.4 per cent), the Netherlands (-5.0 per cent), Spain (-16 per cent) and Russia (-20 per cent) were unable to avoid losses.