Austria tops, Switzerland flops

Results contained in the BHB/GfK report, “DIY and home improvement stores in Austria 2011”, show that the DIY stores in the Austrian republic succeeded in increasing their sales by 1.6 per cent (unadjusted and like-for-like) to more than € two bn last year. The Austrian retail sector saw growth of just 1.2 per cent during the same period. The association expects that the current year, 2012, will experience a similarly positive sales trend as in 2011.This contrasts with the results for Switzerland, where the industry association reports sales for the past year down by 2.1 per cent unadjusted. One of the reasons for this development is probably the strong showing of the Swiss franc, which drove many Swiss shoppers to make their purchases in countries over the border. The BHB forecasts a slight recovery for 2012 with a moderate nominal sales increase of between 1.0 per cent and 1.5 per cent.