German DIY stores only just over previous year in third quarter

In the first nine months of 2018 the German DIY stores achieved an increase of 1.3 per cent compared with the previous year.

The DIY store trade in Germany has only just maintained its total gross sales in the third quarter. The industry lay only 0.3 per cent above the comparable previous year's value with EUR 4.62 bn. Over a comparable area this was an increase of 0.1 per cent. After a positive July (EUR 1.65 bn/+1.3 per cent), sales in August (EUR 1.54 bn/-0.2 per cent) and September (EUR 1.44 bn/-0.3 per cent) remained below the respective previous year's level. These figures have been published by the German industry association BHB.

In the first nine months of 2018 the German DIY stores achieved total gross sales of EUR 14.39 bn and thus an increase of 1.3 per cent compared with the previous year. Over a comparable retail space, the industry realised a sales growth of 1.0 per cent. In the first three quarters, April (EUR 2.24 bn/+22.0 per cent), May (EUR 2.00 bn/+1.1 per cent) and June (EUR 1.76 bn/+2.1 per cent) were the strongest months in sales.