Most start in the red

EDRA, the European DIY Retail Association, is working from the assumption that some of the sales losses in the DIY markets during the first quarter were considerable. The only countries with growth are Russia (7 per cent), Ukraine (5 per cent) and Turkey (2 per cent). In all the other countries looked at there were downswings, at times in the high double digits, even in established markets such as Austria (-11 per cent), The Netherlands (-12 per cent), Germany (-13.6 per cent) and Switzerland (-15 per cent). Slovenia brings up the rear with -22 per cent. This estimate was delivered by Régis Degelcke, vice president of Groupe Adeo and president of EDRA, at the Global DIY Summit in Rome. He also presented estimates of last year’s like-for-like sales. Ranking top once more is Russia (12 per cent), followed by Estonia (7 per cent). The sales volume in the majority of the countries under consideration was found to be either at a standstill or to have declined. Portugal is ranked bottom with a figure of -4 per cent. You can find both ranking tables in full at DIYglobal Plus (see below: Other articles on this topic).