Sunrise in Spain

The Spanish DIY trade completed the year 2020 with a decline in sales of 1.06 per cent. This means that the declines of 9.26 per cent in the first quarter and 25.51 per cent in the second quarter were almost balanced out in the second half of the year: in the third quarter, the industry made 18.73 per cent more than in the same period last year, in the fourth quarter the plus amounted to 12.54 per cent.
Overall, the large-scale DIY stores came away somewhat better, with a minus of 0.94 per cent, than the traditional trade, which had to record a decline in sales of 1.51 per cent in 2020. These figures have been published by the trade association AECOC.
DIY International asked Alejandro Lozano, responsible for the field of DIY at AECOC, to assess the situation. Here is his analysis:

Just a few could have imagined in March and April, when shop closures caused sales to fall by up to 75 per cent, that Spanish DIY retail would close 2020 with practically the same turnover as the previous year. As soon as shops reopened, the sector recorded growth of over 20 per cent. The financial crisis of 2008 already showed us that DIY is capable of keeping its finger on the pulse in difficult economic contexts, but the challenge presented by Covid-19 was greater. In 2020, DIY was a shelter in the perfect storm.
The fact that DIY was one of the few retail sectors in Spain - along with food distribution and technology goods - to close 2020 with optimism has many causes. It is clear that the sector has benefited from the increase in consumers spending on their homes, both because of the economic uncertainty that paralyses the most important investments - 49 per cent of citizens say that their economic situation has worsened with the pandemic, and 92 per cent are moderating their spending, according to AECOC Shopperview data - and because of the restrictions on mobility and sectors such as restaurants. These push citizens to adapt and improve the place in which they spend most of their time: their homes.
However, the vigorous recovery once the shops reopened has only been possible thanks to an industry-wide effort to respond to unprecedented demand. The clearest example of this effort has been the successful and fast-paced development of multi-channel solutions to trigger sales. And I am not only referring to the increase in online sales, which in absolute terms are still a minority, but also to marketing and customer service via telephone, WhatsApp…