Negative quarterly figures in Germany

The German DIY and garden trade ended the first quarter with a decline in sales. This is according to statistics from the German statistical office Destatis, which are not identical to the GfK survey for the German trade association BHB.

According to Destatis, DIY stores saw a 2.0 per cent decline in real terms and a 2.2 per cent decline in nominal terms between January and March compared with the first quarter of last year. In the gardening and pet supplies sector – the authority does not currently provide separate statistics for the gardening sector – industry sales were down 7.8 per cent in real terms and 6.1 per cent in nominal terms compared with the same period last year.