Spanish home improvement market to grow by 36 per cent

The Spanish home improvement market grew by 36.5 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. According to the industry association AECOC, this is not only due to the statistical base effect and the situation that all stores had to close in March 2020. Because compared with the first quarter of 2019 there was an increase of 21.9 per cent.
At the same time, home improvement stores performed better than traditional trade. DIY stores made 42.2 per cent more compared to the same period in 2020 and 24.7 per cent more compared to 2019. In the case of traditional trade, each of the increase rates were just half as high, namely 19.0 per cent and 12.6 per cent.
Alejandro Lozano, head of the DIY division at AECOC, considers that "the increase of the time we spend at home together with the restrictions, which prevent spending on items such as leisure or tourism, are favouring investment in home equipment and reforms." Lozano expects continued good industry development. "The forecast is that the rate of growth will continue to be positive during the second quarter of the year, coinciding with the summer campaign, as long as there is availability of stock to meet all the demand," he explains.