German DIY stores off to a weak start in 2025

The German DIY sector has made a weak start to 2025. The German statistics authority Destatis reports a nominal decline in DIY store sales of 4.7 per cent for February. It has revised its preliminary figure for January downwards and and is reporting an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to January 2024.

This is in line with the assessment of the German trade association BHB, as expressed at the association's press conference last week. “The start of the year is mixed. It's not really a happy one,” said René Haßfeld, Managing Director of the DIY chain Toom and spokesman for the BHB board. At the end of February, sales at German DIY stores were not in the black, according to the press conference.