First three months very good

An increase of seven per cent to € 4.15 bn was achieved by the total of some 2 440 DIY stores in Germany; that came to 5.8 per cent more like-for-like, according to information from the BHB retailers’ association. “It’s ages since we had such a successful start to a new business year,” is how Dr Peter O. Wüst, chief executive officer of the BHB, commented on the figures. This development is being furthered by the good general economic situation, record employment and a house-building boom.The garden ranges alone represented a sales increase of just under twelve per cent year-on-year but unadjusted, realizing more than € 770 mio. Their share of sales amounts to some 23 per cent throughout the sector.By comparison, it is becoming evident that the DIY business experienced difficulties in April. Nevertheless the association sees the signs pointing to growth overall for the rest of the year and forecasts an increase of 1.8 to 2.0 per cent.