Torque Magazine asked key industry associations for their views on the last 12 months, including the British and Irish Association of Fastener Distributors (BIAFD). Up this time, an international perspective from EDRA/GHIN...
EDRA/GHIN brings together the world of home improvement with the principal mission of learning from each other. Its membership includes 232 home centre companies operating over 35,000 stores in 79 countries. Its members generate over 1.6 million jobs and total revenues over €400 billion…
The nights are growing longer, the temperatures in the northern hemisphere are dropping, and Christmas decorations are adorning shops, streets and homes across the world – what better time to reflect on a year than when coming to the end of it. 2025 was a steady year in the DIY and Home Improvement Sector. Taking the example the world’s largest home improvement, The Home Depot®, sales increased by 4.9% from the second quarter of fiscal 2025 in comparison to Q2 in 2024 results that were in line with expectations. Similarly, in September Kingfisher shared underlying like-for-like sales of +1.9% driven by volume & transaction growth. By the same token, HORNBACH increased its sales in the first 6 months of its financial year by 4.4%, based on a strong spring season and high customer footfall. However, in Scandinavia the cycle has not improved in 2025 as expected at the start of the year.
The industry, and society more generally, is living in a higher cost environment, resulting in more discipline needed in managing costs and liquidity. On top of this, customer sentiment is hard to gauge as uncertainty rules.
Nevertheless, looking towards 2026 and the year ahead, there is optimism in the DIY and Home Improvement Sector. There are evolving & exciting revenue streams that are strengthening their position in the market, such as retail media and marketplaces. Hand in hand with this, technological advancements that are now commonplace, such as AI, are enabling us to better interact with our customers and create dialogues with them rather than monologues directed at them. Last, but far from least, sustainability continues to grow in relevance, and our industry is in a most unique position to tackle sustainability on three fronts: in our own business, together with our suppliers, and also in the lives of our customers.
In this regard the Make It Zero Initiative, bringing together the DIY industry to decarbonise the sector together, grows from strength to strength as new members continue to join us and have their voice heard of where the conversation on sustainability should go.
