Double-digit growth in Austria and Switzerland

In Austria and Switzerland, home improvement stores saw a double-digit increase in sales in the first quarter, despite the sector in both countries having been fully impacted by the lockdown in the first quarter of 2021. Austrian DIY stores achieved sales totalling EUR 606.7 mio, equivalent to an increase of 30.7 per cent (like-for-like: +26.2 per cent). In Switzerland, store sales in the first quarter came to CHF 895.4 mio (EUR 821.4 mio), signifying an increase of 46.1 per cent (like for like: +44.5 per cent). The figures were produced by the German home improvement association BHB.