Eurobaustoff retail grows by 15 per cent

Double-digit growth rates have been reported by the German building materials and DIY cooperative Eurobausoff. The retail division, i.e. the associated home improvement stores, increased its sales in Germany in the first half of 2020 by 15.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. The purchasing volume (not the sales) of the overall group in Germany, i.e. including the building materials trade, grew by 11.6 per cent.
"An excellent result for the first six months," commentsCEO  Eckard Kern on the development. He says the reason is the good economic situation in construction, but also the strong demand in the retail trade for assortments which provide embellishment. These include, for example, paints, wood in the garden and all other garden assortments. In addition, German retail customers also focussed on products relating to protection from coronavirus infection, such as masks and disinfectants.
The cooperative is concerned about the development in Austria and in Switzerland. "Construction sites were partly closed at times, the building materials supply trade was only able to continue working under strict regulations," says Hartmut Möller, chief executive officer for both the purchasing division as well as for the two national companies. He also estimates the further development in Austria and in Switzerland to be not quite as pleasing as in Germany.