What you need to know
The DIY and hardware specialists’ sector enjoyed sales growth of 10.5% in 2018 while consumer spending on DIY-related products grew 11.9% to reach £20.9 billion. But the sector is experiencing massive changes as the big-box retailers struggle to maintain relevance and consumer spending increasingly shifts towards the non-specialists and smaller, trade-focused players.
In 2018 Wesfarmers pulled out of the UK and the Bunnings experiment was abandoned. Homebase was bought for £1, launched a CVA (Company Voluntary Agreement) and is now rebuilding its brand at the softer end of the market with new concession agreements signed. Meanwhile Kingfisher is continuing with its ONE Kingfisher plan despite significant difficulties but with a promised profit uplift still proving elusive investors appear to be getting restless and the search is now on for a replacement for CEO Veronique Laury.
A restructuring is also on the cards for Travis Perkins. Its consumer-facing Wickes business had a difficult 2018 and the company has now separated it from the much more successful Toolstation business in its accounts and looks set to sell the Wickes business should it be able to find a buyer.
Products covered in this Report
This Report is designed to give an overview of the UK DIY and home improvement market. This includes an overview of the market with forecasts covering future developments, in-depth consumer analysis using our own data and a look at the key players in the market.
We provide two DIY market sizes within this Report:
The first is provided in the Market Size and Forecast section and covers the specialist DIY/hardware store market, including a five-year forecast. This excludes sales to trade customers.
The second market size is covered in the Consumer Spending on DIY Products section and covers total consumer spending on all DIY products. This market size includes elements of spending on materials, furniture, furnishings and carpets, appliances, tools and equipment as well as gardening products.
