German DIY stores are better than expected in 2019

German DIY stores appear to be in a better position in 2019 than expected. The industry association BHB has now lifted its forecast for the entire year and is expecting double the rate of increase in overall sales than initially assumed, namely 3.0 instead of 1.5 per cent. BHB managing director executive Peter Wüst referred in particular to the first quarter in which retailers "Thanks to the very early start to the garden season - in part as early as mid February - booked sales increases of 10.5 per cent compared to the same period last year".
But businesses also did well throughout the rest of the year. In this respect, BHB most recently reported an increase in the industry of 4.5 per cent to EUR 15.05 bn for the first three quarters. The highest growth rates were in the areas of garden chemicals/soil/seed (+11.8 per cent) and construction chemicals/construction materials (+8.1 per cent). Two assortments were not able to grow, namely garden furniture (-3.3 per cent) and home/deco (-1.8 per cent).