Taiwan’s DIY retailers not as hard hit as they feared

The drop of sales Taiwanese home improvement stores see have not been as significant as originally anticipated.

Retailers in Taiwan have not so far been as adversely affected by the coronavirus crisis as those in many other countries. This is true in particular of home improvement retailing. Although the country's retail outlets are seeing a fall-off in sales, this has not been as significant as originally anticipated in the DIY market, according to market leader TLW, part of the Test Rite Group. One explanation for this could be that in the "low season" after Chinese New Year, people have more time for home improvement jobs.

Taiwan reacted very quickly following the outbreak of the epidemic in China. In doingso it benefited from its harsh experience of the SARS outbreak in 2003. As well as introducing travel restrictions at an early stage, the country's health system was also better prepared.