GDP down, store numbers up

All countries in central and eastern Europe were strongly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, even though governments took different measures. As part of the "regional report" Eastern Europe in this edition of DIY International, we take a look (from west to east) at Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine with only little statistical data; the "regional report" in this issue provides more comprehensive accounts on Poland and Romania, and there is also a major article on the situation in Russia.
How strongly the virus and the unavoidable lockdowns impacted on economic life in individual countries can be clearly seen by the macroeconomic figure of the real change of gross domestic income. For 2020, all countries show a significant decline in economic performance. The worst affected was Ukraine (-7.2 per cent), which is of course facing an additional burden caused by the conflict with Russia, while Poland got away most lightly with a minus of 2.7 per cent.
For comparison only: the largest economies and the three largest individual markets for home improvement and gardening in Europe also shrank significantly in the pandemic. In Great Britain, the decline was almost in double-digit figures at -9.8 per cent; however according to the opinion of many economists, Brexit also had a negative effect here. Also dramatically shrunk is the economic performance in France (-8.1 per cent). The pandemic had a very severe effect here with many weeks of lockdown and high death rates. And in Germany, the largest DIY market in Europe, the GDP also declined, namely by 4.8 per cent.
Back to the central and eastern European countries. Despite declining economic performance, the research team, which compiles the statistical data for DIY International, established quite a bit of movement in the number of locations and retail space in the year 2020. In all countries, stores and new spaces for the home improvement retail industry have been added.
In Poland, all major DIY store operators apart from the German Obi chain report growths in their store portfolios, above all the Polish chain PSB Mrówka. It has lived up to its name, which translates as "ant", and has opened 22 new locations. The fact that the retail space of the Mrówka stores grew somewhat less strongly than the number of locations (6.2 per cent compared to 7.0 per cent), is an indication that the company has developed a concept which also works in smaller towns with its smaller format Mini-Mrówka.