Do-it-yourself industry is booming
Self-catering people love home improvement stores
05/01/2022 09:52 am
Radishes on the balcony, tomatoes in the garden, lettuce in the raised bed: Equipped with more or less green thumbs, more and more hobby gardeners are trying to be self-sufficient. Due to the current situation, this trend is picking up again.
As a result of the war in Ukraine and rising food prices, more and more people are apparently trying to provide themselves with some fruit and vegetables. The trade association for DIY, building and gardening (BHB) reported an increasing trend in the purchase of seeds and propagating plants as well as an increased need for self-sufficiency. “This trend runs through all age groups and often goes hand in hand with a return to one’s own kitchen garden,” said BHB general manager Peter Wüst in Cologne.
City dwellers also created opportunities for themselves: for example, the sale of raised beds, which can be stored on the balcony to save space, has increased significantly. A large trading company has noticed an increase in demand by a third compared to the same period in 2021, reported Wüst. “Traders notice similar effects with plant goods – especially with crops,” the industry expert said. However, the demand here is always heavily dependent on the weather and has therefore been rather restrained in the past few weeks. “Nevertheless, traders are optimistic that demand for plants will increase again significantly in the coming weeks with better weather, especially since the season has only just begun.”
As a trade association, the BHB represents the interests of the trading companies for DIY, building and gardening from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. According to the information provided, the total gross sales of DIY stores in Germany reached around 20.33 billion euros last year. This not only includes garden-related products, but also from areas such as sanitary, painting accessories and building materials.
quality and organic
The industry giants include Obi, Bauhaus, Hornbach, Hagebau and Toom. However, the war as well as rising prices and inflation also have negative consequences for the so-called do-it-yourself industry: According to Wüst, some companies have fewer customers in some places. “Especially in high-priced product groups, customers are currently buying in a more targeted and cautious manner.”
Despite additional challenges such as problems in the production and supply chains as well as high energy and logistics prices, companies expect their goods to be readily available over the course of the year. “The trend is still towards high quality and organic production,” says Wüst. It is clear that this range will be significantly expanded at many specialist garden retailers in the near future. Companies are currently very concerned about the topic – “from procurement to training employees in consulting”.