Sales growth in Germany

BHB, the German DIY Retailers’ Association, expects that this year will bring unadjusted growth of 2.6 per cent for the DIY sector in Germany. This forecast was delivered by Michael Baumgardt, president of BHB and managing director of Zeus, at the 11th International DIY Home Centre Congress in Cologne. A variety of different signals is coming from the German-speaking neighbouring countries. Switzerland recorded a decline of 1.1 per cent in the first three quarters, while Austria notched up an increase of 2.6 per cent. Whereas here the growth was achieved right across all product categories, this year saw a weakening of live plant sales in Germany.