Two per cent minus in Switzerland

The DIY and home improvement sector in Switzerland recorded total gross sales of € 1.90 bn in 2013, a nominal fall of 2.0 per cent on the previous year. It was above all the bad weather in the first quarter – according to the explanation given by the BHB industry association – that led to shortfalls of 9.7 per cent in February and 24.2 per cent in March. There was simply no demand for garden products in particular. In spite of a strong sales month in April (+11.0 per cent) the sales trend still failed to gain momentum in the second quarter, since the rain-plagued early summer (May -2.5 per cent; June -1.0 per cent) prevented any progress being made in the sales pattern. In terms of the year as a whole, the product categories in the garden market (live plants, seeds, garden hardware and accessories) recorded the greatest sales losses of minus 7.1 per cent. Other categories affected negatively were automotive/vehicles/trailers (-2.7 per cent), seasonal articles and merchandising products (-2.7 per cent) and home/decoration (-2.5 per cent). These contrast with sales growth achieved by the categories of home textiles (+3.8 per cent), lighting (+3.1 per cent) and walls/floors (+1.4 per cent).