Sector shrinking, companies growing

The companies in the German do-it-yourself sector recorded an increase in sales of 8.8 per cent in fiscal 2014. This figure takes the disappearance of the Praktiker Group with the Praktiker and Max Bahr stores into account. Measured by the overall gross sales of € 17.63 bn, the sector saw a decline in sales of 6.2 per cent compared with 2013, when the once third-largest company in the sector was still included. German DIY stores increased their sales on a comparable retail area by 5.0 per cent. The figures were published by the German industry association BHB.
“As expected, the complete withdrawal of the Praktiker DIY chain from the market at the beginning of March 2014 made it impossible for the sector to replicate the volume of sales of the previous year in the market as a whole. However, the growth of the companies active in the home improvement retail market in 2014 demonstrates that the German DIY and home improvement sector is well positioned,” said BHB board spokesman Erich Huwer.
The association expects to see like-for-like sales grow by 1.5 to 2.5 per cent in 2015. It perceives potential for sales growth in private renovation and house building work on account of the low financing costs and the uncertainty that exists with regard to other capital investments.