Hornbach satisfied with business performance despite drop in sales

The German DIY chain Hornbach generated sales of EUR 1.3806 bn with its DIY stores in the third quarter (1 September to 30 November 2023), 3.5 per cent less than in the same period of the previous year. On a like-for-like basis, the decline amounted to 4.3 per cent. Sales at Hornbach Baumarkt AG in Germany fell by 4.2 per cent to EUR 661.7 mio. Outside Germany, the decline was slightly less pronounced and amounted to 2.8 per cent (Euro 718.9 mio).

For the first nine months, sales fell by 1.3 per cent year-on-year to EUR 4.6087 bn. DIY stores and garden centres in Germany generated sales of EUR 2.2252 bn, down 1.3 per cent. At EUR 2.3834 bn, the stores abroad were 0.4 per cent above the previous year's level. The foreign share of sales rose to 51.7 per cent.

Online retail (including Click & Collect) accounted for 12.9 per cent of total sales at the Hornbach Baumarkt subgroup in the first nine months; in the 2022/23 financial year, this figure was 14.5 per cent, although the pre-coronavirus level in fiscal 2019/20 had a significantly lower online share of 9.7 per cent. Compared with the same period in the previous year, online sales in the first three quarters of 2023/24 fell by 12.0 per cent to EUR 596 mio.

Sales at the Hornbach Group as a whole fell by 4.0 per cent to EUR 1.4852 bn in the third quarter and by 1.3 per cent to EUR 4.9265 bn in the first three quarters.

In his comments on the quarterly figures, Albrecht Hornbach, CEO of Hornbach Management AG, nevertheless expressed his confidence: "We are satisfied with our business performance - especially outside Germany, where we have further expanded our market share. Times of crisis have always been good times for DIY and many consumers continue to prioritise investment in their homes. We are therefore optimistic about the future."