Between stabilization and decline

 

The global home improvement market shrank by 1.9 percent in 2024. The main reason for this development is the market trend in China. While the country had saved the global market from a more severe decline in 2023, it is now pushing the entire Asia/Pacific region and the global market into negative territory with a decline of 15.4 percent.

The figures are taken from the new edition of the Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide, which was published on October 15. The figures for the international home improvement and DIY industry are published by Dähne Verlag and were once again compiled in collaboration with the global trade associations EDRA/GHIN and the global manufacturers’ association HIMA.

In contrast to the global trend, nominal sales in the home improvement market in North America and Europe grew slightly in 2024, with increases of 1.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. Without the sharp decline in China, the global home improvement market would have grown by 1.5 percent in 2024. In 2023, global sales had already shrunk by 4.6 percent, with the Chinese market protecting the international home improvement industry from an even sharper decline.

The DIY market segment, which exclusively comprises home centers, hardware stores and DIY retailers, performed slightly better than the home improvement market in 2024. Globally, the DIY market grew by 0.7 percent, with growth of 1.0 percent in North America and Europe and only a slight decline of 0.4 percent in the Asia/Pacific region.

In contrast to the DIY market, the larger home improvement market also includes building materials retailers and furnishing retailers with a DIY character, but not pure furniture retailers.

“We are pleased to be able to provide the international industry with a comprehensive market overview again this year,” explains Reinhard Wolff, President of the international manufacturers’ association HIMA. “We are undoubtedly in challenging times, in which reliable data and figures are essential as a guideline for all involved,” says Wolff.

“The figures compiled in collaboration with Dähne Verlag show that last year was a demanding one for the international industry, which faced challenges and, in some cases, strong headwinds,” says John W. Herbert, General Secretary of the international DIY trade association EDRA/GHIN (European Home Improvement Association / Global Home Improvement Network). “It is encouraging that, after the recent sharp declines in 2023, there are clear signs of recovery and renewed growth,” said Herbert.

Michael Greiner, editor at Dähne Verlag and responsible for publishing the report, takes a similar view: “After the slump in 2023, the global home improvement market can be said to have stabilized in 2024. Even though the bottom line for 2024 is negative, it must be acknowledged that several retailers worldwide were able to return to stable growth and that the developed markets in North America and Europe were able to grow slightly.” According to Greiner, it remains exciting to see how the current year 2025 will develop. The expert says that the figures for 2024 show that the industry continued to struggle worldwide in 2024 with the effects of increased inflation and partial declines in the construction sector. The former would have pushed the partly low nominal national growth rates back into negative territory in real terms.

Changes and innovations in the new edition

“Special thanks again go to our partners in the association and the many companies worldwide who contributed to the creation of the new report by providing their figures,” explains John W. Herbert.

The new edition of the Home Improvement Report analyzes the global market based on data from 632 retail chains worldwide, of which 514 have national sales figures available. New features include a presentation of national developments in the respective local currency to offset distorting currency effects, as well as a revision of the data model for the calculated home improvement market. In addition to the 514 global sales figures of retailers, this provides a basis for projections based on index values, gross domestic product, and the respective level of development of a country.

“After discussions with experts and consultation with the associations, for which we are very grateful, we have decided to make an adjustment,” explains Michael Greiner. “The core of the change is that the calculation is now based on the fact that the share of home improvement spending in gross domestic product is higher in developing countries than in developed industrialized countries.” The hope is to be able to present a better picture of the respective national market volume, even if this is based on calculations due to the continued existence of many unknown sales figures, explains Greiner. According to the new calculations, China is now the largest national market in the home improvement sector with an estimated €612 billion, followed by the US with €426 billion, India with €223 billion, and Japan with €95 billion.

Obtaining the report and data collection

The new Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide comprises more than 340 pages and has now been compiled for the third year in a row in close cooperation between global trade (EDRA/GHIN) and industry associations (HIMA) and Dähne Verlag. The 2025 report is based on figures from 632 home improvement retail chains in more than 70 countries worldwide, providing a unique overview of developments in the global DIY sector.

In addition to the new Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide, Dähne Verlag has also published the underlying data collection Home Improvement Retailers Worldwide in European and global versions. This examines 660 retail companies worldwide in detail in terms of sales, locations, and sales areas, and provides an overview of each home improvement company’s international distribution channels and corporate networks. The data collection also contains entries on 1,500 management functions of global retail companies and the addresses of their headquarters.

The new Home Improvement Report 2025 and the Home Improvement Retailers 2025 data collection can be ordered individually or as a package from Dähne Verlag and are available to association members via EDRA, GHIN, and HIMA or their national associations.

 

DIY stores feel the crises

The global home improvement market experienced a difficult year in 2023, reaching a level of 667.0 billion euros. Compared to the previous year, this represents a contraction of 3.9 percent for the home improvement industry. The decline was preceded by a 35.4 percent overall growth of the global market between 2019 and 2022, which corresponds to an annual growth rate of 10.6 percent.

The global market in euros was only saved from an even sharper decline by growth of 4.1 percent in the Asia-Pacific region – and here in particular China with plus 11.3 billion euros (+9.1 percent) in 2023. All other world regions were in the red. In euro terms, the regions of Africa/Middle East and North America experienced a particularly sharp decline of 12.6 percent (previous year: minus 1.1 percent) and 8.4 percent (previous year: plus 18.9 percent) respectively. The market in euros also shrank, albeit less sharply, in Latin America by minus 4.8 percent (previous year: plus 4.9 percent) and in Europe by minus 3.5 percent (previous year: plus 6.3 percent).

“2023 was not a good year for the global home improvement industry,” explains Michael Greiner, the editor at Dähne Verlag responsible for the new Home Improvement Report. “After the industry experienced an extraordinary boom worldwide during the Corona crisis and shortly thereafter, we are now seeing the delayed toll that the multiple crises worldwide are also taking on DIY stores and the home improvement industry.”

The figures are taken from the new Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide, which was produced in collaboration with the international DIY store trade associations Edra/Ghin, the international manufacturers’ association Hima and Dähne Verlag.

“Reliable figures are particularly valuable in turbulent times. This edition of the Home Improvement Report also aims to accurately measure and validly process the global retail landscape,” says Reinhard Wolff, President of the international manufacturers’ association HIMA (Home Improvement Manufacturers Association). “Special thanks again go to our partners in the associations and the many companies worldwide that have contributed to the new report by providing their figures,” explains John Herbert, General Secretary of the international DIY trade association Edra/Ghin (European Home Improvement Association / Global Home Improvement Network).

The overall increase in China in 2023 of 9.1 percent is based on figures from the national statistics authority on direct sales by factories and their associated distribution structures to end consumers, tradespeople and construction companies. These rose last year by 16.3 percent to 113.7 billion euros. By contrast, the retail sales in the home improvement sector, which are reported separately by the statistics authority, fell by 17.4 percent to 21.6 billion euros in 2023.

 

Only Asia among the world regions in positive territory

In 2023, North America was still by far the largest market for the home improvement industry, with 308.7 billion euros. However, sales here shrank by 8.4 percent in euro terms. In real terms and in local currency, only Mexico managed to achieve growth, while the United States and Canada shrank. Mexico saw an increase of 3.5 percent. In the world’s leading market, the USA, real and local currency sales fell by 9.9 percent in 2023, and by 7.4 percent in Canada.

The picture was different in the world’s second-largest region, Asia-Pacific. Several major home improvement markets saw strong growth in real terms and in local currency, including Indonesia (+24.4 percent), China (+17.9 percent) and Thailand (+9.2 percent). With a market volume of around EUR 136 billion, China has established itself in second place behind the USA, with a market volume of around EUR 278 billion.

In Europe, the home improvement market grew most strongly in real terms in Bulgaria (10.8 percent), followed by Portugal (5.0 percent) and Russia (3.5 percent). The largest European markets in Germany, France and the United Kingdom saw a decline in real terms of 9.6, 8.7 and 7.8 percent respectively. In 2023, the sector generated a total of EUR 28.9 billion in Germany, EUR 21.8 billion in France and EUR 16.7 billion in the United Kingdom. The biggest drop was seen in Eastern Europe. In Belarus, the sector fell by 35.6 percent, in Lithuania by 32.9 percent and in Finland by 23.7 percent.

The performance of the major home improvement retailers in 2023 was also poor. With Groupe Adeo and its 0.9 percent increase, there was only one company among the top 20 home improvement retailers worldwide with nominal growth; all the other 19 companies saw their sales shrink last year. In total, the top 20 retail companies generated a turnover of 384.2 billion euros in 2023. The list is again led by Home Depot with 141.2 billion euros and Lowe’s with 79.9 billion euros from the USA, followed by Groupe Adeo with 31.8 billion euros from France.

 

Unique statistics

The new Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide is more than 300 pages strong and has been compiled for the second year in a row in close collaboration between the global trade (Edra/Ghin) and industry associations (Hima) and Dähne Verlag. The 2024 report is based on figures for 621 home improvement retail chains from 72 countries worldwide and thus provides a unique insight into the development of the global DIY industry.

In addition to the new Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide, Dähne Verlag has also published the underlying data collection Home Improvement Retailers Worldwide in the versions Europe and Worldwide. This examines in detail 650 retail companies worldwide in terms of sales, locations and sales areas and provides an overview of the international sales line and group network for each home improvement company. The data collection also contains entries for more than 1,300 management functions of retail companies worldwide, as well as the addresses of the company headquarters.

The new Home Improvement Report 2024 and the data collection Home Improvement Retailers 2024 can be ordered individually or as a package from Dähne Verlag, or for association members from Edra, Ghin and Hima or their national associations.