To be continued

The global home improvement retail market shrank in 2020, to be precise by 2.2 per cent to a value of USD 279.276 bn (EUR 229.319 bn). This figure was given by Miles Agbanrin, a consultant at Euromonitor International, in his presentation for the Global DIY-Network.Although the growth rate of e-commerce in the global home improvement trade doubled from 23 per cent in 2019 to 47 per cent in 2020, the overall decline in market volume could not be averted. Sales in home improvement and garden stores, whose market share is put at 70 per cent by Euromonitor International, were down by 1 per cent, while sales in other distribution channels fell by 9 per cent (market share: 22 per cent). The market share of e-commerce increased from 3 to 8 per cent between 2015 and 2020. The overall decline took place not in the western industrialised nations, however, but in the so-called developing markets, Agbanrin explained. He cited India, Taiwan and China as examples of this.Sales of wooden flooring in the Asia-Pacific region, for example, fell by USD 1.878 bn (EUR 1.542 bn), decorative paint sales declined by USD 2.126 bn (EUR 1.746 bn) and sales of floor tiles were down by USD 3.157 bn (EUR 2.592 bn). On the other hand, "light DIY" was in demand in America and Europe. In North America, retail sales in the decorative paint category rose by USD 1.050 bn (EUR 862 mio) and in the hardware category by USD 950 mio (EUR 780 mio), while in Western Europe, decorative paint added USD 647 mio (EUR 531 mio) in sales.Euromonitor International expects the global market volume to increase again in 2021 to USD 291.248 bn (EUR 239.150 bn). By 2025 it should rise to USD 315.081 bn (EUR 258.719 bn).

Christoph Hantschk has had the opportunity to present his company Goodbag. The eponymous goodbag is a reusable carrier bag with sewn in NFC (near-field-communication) chip. When users take their goodbag with them into a shop which cooperates with the company, they can, as a reward, plant a tree against climate change or have plastic waste collected from the ocean or receive a discount. The process is started via a smartphone app.His motivation is to enable everyone to protect the environment in their everyday life, the company founder emphasised in his presentation which was hosted by Victoria Neuhofer. Names such as the Swiss discounter Denner, the Portuguese retail chain Continente, Nestlé, Deutsche Telekom and the London…