Slower growth in Japan again

The Japanese DIY market saw growth of no more than 0.54 per cent last year. After five years of falling sales the sector had only just made a recovery in 2011, when it saw an increase of two per cent. The latest figure of JPY 3 943 bn did not, however, quite reach the level of 2006, the first year of the financial crisis. The increase in store numbers is still tending to exceed the growth of sales. The Japan DIY Industry Association announced a total of 4 430 DIY stores at the end of 2012.You can find sales and store figures for the DIY trade in Japan since 1990 in DIYglobal Plus (see below: Further articles on this topic).