French DIY stores in January below previous year, but far above 2020

In January, DIY stores in France again remained clearly below the corresponding sales of the previous year, but made considerably more sales than two years earlier. Compared to January 2021, DIY sales were down by 6.0 per cent, but up by 14 per cent compared to January 2020. The reason for this is the exceptional year 2021, as Caroline Hupin, managing director of the French industry association FMB, explains regarding the figures of the Banque de France: "Last year, the industry experienced a growth outside the norm of 13 per cent. Now we are back within the norm, but with a performance not seen since the 2008 crisis."