Garden centre boom in Germany

Garden centres in Germany continue to flourish. As in previous years, the number of outlets belonging to the 20 biggest German garden centre operators rose again in 2011. Dähne Verlag has learned that the figure has increased by 106 to 3 461 stores, an increase of 3.5 per cent. The biggest growth was recorded by the five largest cooperatives operating in the garden sector, which added 74 stores (up 5.4 per cent). The DIY chains come next with an increase of 35 stores (up two per cent) to 1 818 stores.