International sales flat

The German DIY retailer Hornbach only saw growth at home in the first six months of its financial year (1 March – 31 August 2012). Here sales grew by 1.5 per cent to € 957.1 mio. This compares with sales abroad, which persisted at the € 710.4 mio (0.0 per cent) achieved in the comparable period last year. In like-for-like terms there was a decrease of 2.4 per cent. Altogether the Hornbach stores in Germany and eight other European countries achieved a sales increase of 0.9 per cent and a volume of € 1.6676 bn. The company attributes the standstill in its international business to the depressed consumer mood in parts of both western and eastern Europe in reaction to the debt crisis and poor economic forecasts. “It is all the more pleasing that we have managed like-for-like sales growth in some countries such as Romania in the first six months of 2012/2013, or have been perceptibly better than the industry average,” commented Albrecht Hornbach, chairman of Hornbach Holding AG.