Hornbach just about holds onto foreign sales

In its first quarterly report for 2013 the German DIY retailer Hornbach says it had a difficult start to the spring season. The current total of 139 stores, in Germany and eight other countries in Europe, together recorded sales of € 838.9 mio between 1 March and 31 May 2013. That is 3.0 per cent down year-on-year. In like-for-like terms sales fell by 5.9 per cent (-6.1 per cent at constant currency rates). Sales in Germany fell 4.9 per cent to € 478.9 mio, and 5.8 per cent like-for-like. Although Hornbach did nearly manage to maintain its level of foreign sales with a total of € 360.0 mio and a deficit of just 0.4 per cent, this was mainly down to its new openings. There was a minus of 6.1 per cent in a same-store comparison, and 6.5 per cent in constant currency.