Europe’s DIY sales have suffered

2013 was a “tough” year for DIY retailing in Europe as Edra, the European DIY Retail Association, declares in a statement on the forthcoming International Hardware Fair in Cologne due to be held in Cologne in March 2014. A survey of members right across Europe reveals that the DIY retailers belonging to the association recorded sales down by an average of two per cent between January and September 2013. They cite the miserable weather in the spring as the main reason for this shortfall. The sale of garden tools and equipment, for example, collapsed by 50 per cent. On a worldwide scale, Edra sees the DIY and builders’ merchant sector as still set on a growth path. The association expects a slight sales increase in Europe as well for 2014.