DIY stores in Italy start the year with a sales increase

In the first four months of 2022, Italian home improvement stores saw sales growth of 1.8 per cent as compared with the same period in the previous year. Building materials were the fastest-growing product category by far, with sales up by 23 per cent. The biggest decline was in paints and lacquers at minus 16 per cent, while sales of garden ranges fell by 3 per cent. The figures were published in the Total Store Report by GfK, which looks at stores with a retail area of over 1 000 m².