EUROPEAN DIY RETAIL ASSOCIATION  

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NEWSLETTER
Current affairs in the Home Improvement Industry 

20 May 2015     Issue 254
 
World: The 3rd Global DIY Summit is almost here!

Global_Summit

The 3rd Global DIY Summit, taking place on 11 - 12 June 2015 in London, commences just one week from today! The congress is set to be the most successful event ever organised by the home improvement associations EDRA, fediyma and ghin. Over 700 top decision-makers, including more than 200 top managers from over 40 countries around the world, have already registered. With four main topics, the current radical changes in consumer behaviour will be explored, namely: The Store of the Future, Big Data - Smart Data, Innovation DIY 4.0, and Home Improvement around the World. Participate in the 3rd Global DIY Summit and make your own judgement on the changing face of home improvement. If you haven't already registered, don't miss out and make sure you register today!

   

 

UK & Ireland: Kingfisher Q1 sales up
Kingfisher

Kingfisher's latest results reveal a 1.5% decline at B&Q in the UK & Ireland, as Screwfix posts an increase of 26.8% for the quarter, boosted by new openings. The trading statement for the 13 weeks ended 1 May 2015, reported that sales for retail operations in the UK and Ireland were up 1.6% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis against strong comparatives of +10.1% for the same period last year. Plans to downsize the chain continued, with contracts exchanged to dispose of leases on 14 stores to two national retailers over the next two years. The stores form part of the previously-announced 60 B&Q store closures. In France Kingfisher posted a total sales increase of 0.4%, down 1.2% LFL, reflecting what it describes as a soft market. The Castorama chain saw sales decline 0.6% on a total and LFL basis, in line with market expectations. Meanwhile, Brico D?p?t reported an increase of 1.6%, down 1.9% LFL, impacted by the continued slowing of the house-building market. Kingfisher's performance in its other international businesses, which include newer markets Russia and Poland, was positive, with total sales up 7.8% and a LFL increase of 3.8%. Sales in Poland were broadly flat, up 0.4% LFL but against strong comparatives of nearly 12% LFL the previous year. Russia saw impressive growth, with total sales up 38.9% and +31.3% LFL, reflecting strong consumer spending on durable goods in an uncertain market, said Kingfisher. Kingfisher chief executive officer V?ronique Laury said: "We have made a solid start to the year against strong comparatives. In the UK, B&Q continued to grow sales volumes and Screwfix delivered an excellent performance, opening its 400th store in May."

Romania: Leroy Merlin opens new store
Leroy_Merlin

Leroy Merlin has opened another store at the site of a former bauMax outlet. Including this new opening ADEO-owned Leroy Merlin now operates four stores in Romania, two of which were former bauMax sites. The French home improvement chain will open a brand new store in Bucharest in early June and another ex-bauMax outlet is in the process of being converted. 

UK: RHS Gold for Homebase at Chelsea Flower Show

Homebase has notched up another Gold medal with its Urban Retreat Garden show garden designed by Adam Frost. It is Mr Frost's seventh Gold medal at Chelsea and his third designing for Homebase. The garden was designed as a space where people can come together and enjoy community life but also as a place where local wildlife can flourish. Adam describes it as an urban community garden that shows us how green space can be successfully incorporated into our towns and cities. It certainly has a very modern feel to it.

Canada: Retail trade upturn for RONA
rona logo 100x68.jpg

The Canadian DIY Group RONA, strengthened its retail trade business in the first quarter by 5.9%. The like-for-like increase alone amounted to 5.0%. The company sees this as a clear confirmation of its repositioning strategy. However, the wholesale revenue has declined by 5.9%. According to the company, this is due to a decline in the number of affiliated independent retailers and bad weather in Qu?bec. Total revenue increased by 1.9% to CAD 778.8m.

Romania: Praktiker increases sales in Q1
Praktiker_Logo

Praktiker Romania concluded the first quarter of 2015 with a 12.4% increase in sales compared with the same period last year. Good financial results have come in the process of optimization and repositioning of the brand Praktiker in the Romanian DIY market.

U.S.: Sales up by 5.4% at Lowe's
Lowe's logo

Lowe's, the number two in the U.S. market, has reported an increase in sales in the first quarter (ended 1 May 2015) of the current fiscal year of 5.4% to USD 14.129 bn. Sales on a comparable store area increased by 5.2% overall and in the U.S. by 5.3%.

Germany: Sales drop at Hagebau
hagebau_logo

The 327 Hagebau stores in Germany recorded net sales of ? 399.02m in the first quarter of 2015, thus experiencing a drop in sales of 1.4% compared with the same period in the previous year. Centrally invoiced sales of the cooperative as a whole declined by 3.6% to ? 1.45 bn in the first three months. Speciality trade accounted for ? 813m of this, 5.8% less than in the same quarter in the previous year.

U.S.: Ace Hardware sees strong sales increase
ACE_Hardware

The US cooperative Ace Hardware increased its sales in the first quarter by 10.0% compared with the same period last year, with total sales amounting to USD 1.1861 bn. These essentially comprised wholesale transactions with the cooperative's 4,252 affiliated independent retailers. Central sales rose by 10.1% to USD 1.1398 bn. The cooperative's own retail sales increased by 5.9% to USD 46.3m. The precise external sales of Ace members are not known. Approximately 3,000 retailers who report their sales to the central office increased their sales on the same store area by 9.2%.

Canada: Strong Q1 for Canadian Tire
Canadian_tire

In its first quarter, Canadian Tire Corp. reported a 3% drop in profits owing to higher taxes and poorer performance in the company's financial services business, plus lower gasoline prices. However, retail sales were up 4.5% overall for the Canadian Tire Retail division. The company also enjoyed a rise in same-store sales for each of its principal banners: 4.7% at Canadian Tire, 8.6% at FGL Sports, and 5.5% at Mark's.

France: Bricorama domestic sales up
Bricorama logo

The French DIY operator Bricorama announces a revenue increase of 3.0% for the first quarter 2015, with a total revenue of ? 160.1m. Whereas the French stores' revenue has increased by 6.0% to ?106.1m, the Benelux countries recorded a -2.5% to ? 49.8m. In Spain, the revenue remained at ? 4.2m, exactly the same as the previous year.

U.S.: Home Depot sales up

The US American DIY worldwide market leader, Home Depot, turned over USD 20.891 bn in the first quarter (end: 3 May 2015) of its financial year. The total rate of increase, as well as the like-for-like growth rates, account for 6.1%. The stores in the USA domestic market increased by 7.1% on the same sales area. According to the Chairman, CEO and President Craig Menear, the quite normal spring weather and the continued recovery in the property market has led to expectations being exceeded.

Turkey: New Bauhaus store
Bauhaus Logo

German DIY retailer Bauhaus has opened a new store in the Turkish capital Ankara. The store has a total sales area of 11,000sqm and a range of 120,000 articles. Bauhaus now operates ten stores in Turkey with other outlets located in Ankara (2), Antalya, Bursa and Istanbul (5).

Russia: Metrika faces store closures
metrika logo 100x50.jpg

The Russian DIY chain Metrika has closed down numerous stores. From the 112 stores at the end of the year, just 68 are still open. Financial problems at the parent company SBR are reported as the underlying cause. Last year Metrika struggled with sharp revenue declines.

Australia: Lowe's Masters operations drain cash
Masters

With 53 stores the Masters chain has lost more than AU$3 bn, and stores there continue to lose sales, with average sales per store sinking below AU$20m. Break-even is considered to be AU$30m. The company is expected to lose up to AU$200m this year.

Canada: RONA opens new stores and looks at adding consumables
rona logo 100x68.jpg

RONA is sticking to its plan of strategic expansion as it eyes possible sites for store openings in 2015. Two more stores will open by year's end, joining the RONA proximity store in Halifax and the three new R?no-D?p?ts (including the first two outside Quebec) already opened this year. CEO Robert Sawyer stressed to shareholders the significance of Western Canada as a field for expansion. He also comments that RONA stores could offer a wider selection of consumer products and impulse purchases. Gesturing to his bottled water, Sawyer suggested that more SKUs could be given over to items such as that - within reason, he added. Despite his own grocery background, Sawyer contrasted the company's cautious approach with that of Canadian Tire, which is, he said, "becoming a grocery store."

UK: H1 sales up for Topps
topps tiles logo 100x100.jpg

Topps Tiles has confirmed that it has grown ahead of the tile market in the first half of its year, increasing total sales by 6.4% to ?104.0m, and with like-for-like sales ahead by 5.3%. In the 26 weeks to 28 March 2015, the leading tile specialist also saw operating profit grow by 14.8% to ?10.1m and pre-tax profit by 13.8% to ?9.1m.

 
 
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Content responsibility:
John Herbert and
Catherine Morga
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