German DIY stores reach a plus of 1.6 per cent at the midyear point

The DIY store trade in Germany made total gross sales of € 9.59 bn in the first half year of 2017, thus gaining an increase in sales of 1.6 per cent (like-for-like 1.4 per cent) compared to the previous year. The first quarter was strongest in sales (+5.4 per cent) and mainly responsible for the positive sector report for the middle of the year, according to the German industry association BHB.
Garden assortments, amongst others, were decisive for the positive result: with total gross sales of € 2.65 bn, they made up around 28 per cent of total DIY store sales in the first half year.
They have also shown themselves to be growth drivers, together with the field leisure/seasonal goods (+8.5 per cent), compared to the previous year. Thus, the product groups garden equipment (+6.4 per cent), live plants (+6.1 per cent), garden chemicals/soils/seeds (+3.9 per cent) and gardening tools/irrigation and drainage (+3.3 per cent) increased significantly.
In the DIY store sector, the product group construction chemicals/construction material grew most strongly with 3.7 per cent. Declines in sales were particularly shown in the product groups home/decorating (-7.1 per cent), garden furniture (-6.6 per cent) and household goods (-5.8 per cent).