Just Over 20 Days�Until We Meet In Berlin!

Hurry to secure your place for the 9th Global DIY-Summit 2023.�

Get one of the last tickets left and join this first class networking event taking place from 14 - 16 June 2023 in Berlin.

USA: The Home Depot Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2023 Results; Updates Fiscal 2023 Guidance.�

The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported sales of�$37.3 billion�for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, a decrease of 4.2% from the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Comparable sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased 4.5%, and comparable sales in the�U.S.�decreased 4.6%.

Net earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 were�$3.9 billion, compared with net earnings of�$4.2 billion in the same period of fiscal 2022.

"After a three-year period of unprecedented growth for our sector, during which we grew sales by over�$47 billion, we expected that fiscal 2023 would be a year of moderation for the home improvement market. Our sales for the quarter were below our expectations primarily driven by lumber deflation and unfavorable weather, particularly in our Western division as extreme weather in�California�disproportionately impacted our results," said Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO.

www.corporate.homedepot.com

Germany: Hornbach Increases Sales by 6.6 Per Cent in the 2022/2023 Financial Year.�

The Hornbach Group achieved sales of EUR 6.3 billion in the past 2022/2023 financial year, an increase of 6.6 percent compared to the previous year.�In line with the forecast results and preliminary figures, adjusted EBIT fell by 20 percent year-on-year to EUR 290.1�​​million.�Adjusted EBIT at the Hornbach Baumarkt subgroup fell by 23.4 percent to EUR 241 million (2021/22: EUR 314.7 million).�

Against the background of the ongoing macroeconomic challenges caused by persistently high inflation and rising product prices, as well as the subdued start to the spring season in most of the countries in the business area, also due to the weather, the Management Board is sticking to the outlook for the 2023/24 financial year.

In the challenging environment of the past few years, Hornbach has significantly increased its market share in Germany and in all international markets compared to the pre-pandemic

level.�In the 2022 calendar year, Hornbach DIY stores had a market share of 14.9 percent in Germany compared to 13.1 percent in 2019, 17.8 percent in Austria (2019: 17.0 percent), and 34.4 percent in the Czech Republic (2019 : 33.3 percent), in the Netherlands at 26.1 percent (2019: 21.1 percent) and in Switzerland at 13.5 percent (2019: 12.0 percent).
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www.baumarktmanager.de

Estonia: Bauhof names his new CEO.�

Edvinas Volkas has been named the new CEO of Bauhof. Volkas takes over from Mantas Tulaba, who served as interim CEO for the past month.

Volkas has worked in various positions in Vilniaus Prekyba group companies for over 20 years. Prior to becoming CEO of Bauhof, he served as CEO of Maxima Estonia for almost four years and before that four years as CEO of Maxima Bulgaria (T-Market).

Bauhof Group has been operating in Estonia since 2002. Presently Bauhof operates 13 stores based on the international DIY concept. Bauhof is a member of the commercial group Vilniaus Prekyba operating on the Baltic states, Poland, Sweden and Bulgaria markets.
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www.diyinternational.com

Italy: Success Beyond Any Expectation For The Debut Of International Hardware Fair Italy.�

The first edition of International Hardware Fair Italy took place from 5-6 May 2023 at Fiera di Bergamo. International Hardware Fair Italy 2023, organised by Koelnmesse Italy on the model of EISENWARENMESSE, was sold out with 302 exhibitors in its two halls. The trade fair experienced a strong participation from international companies from 20 countries, including group and individual participants.�
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The strong synergy with EISENWARENMESSE, the world's largest trade fair for the sector is the basis for the immediate success of the new events' first edition that registered more than 5,300 visitors from 30 different countries.

"The International Hardware Fair Italy was one of the most successful first editions of a Trade Fair that I have had the pleasure of experiencing" commented John W. Herbert, General Secretary of EDRA/GHIN. "The organisers of the coming together of the industry in Bergamo can be most proud for what they have accomplished with this show, which will have a most promising future."

The Next events in the International Hardware Fair calendar are:

• China International Hardware Show, Shanghai,19-21 September 2023
• International Hardware Fair India, New Delhi, India, 2–4 December 2023
• International Hardware Fair Cologne, Cologne, Germany, 3-6 March 2024

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www.hardwarefair-italy.com

Spain: Ikea arrives in Huelva with a new store format.�

Ikea�has just announced that this June it will open a�planning space�in Huelva, Spain, "in which customers can be inspired, design and plan personalized projects for any space in the home:�kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms or bathrooms�".�

Although the space, which will be located on the ground floor of the Holea shopping center,�will not have an assortment to buy directly, "customers will receive assistance to make�purchases�online�or hire collection, transport and assembly services, all without the need by appointment".

This�new Ikea format�(which has already implemented up to�5 different physical formats�in Spain) will be called 'Ikea�​​Huelva planning space' and is part of its�omnichannel expansion�plan and Ikea's commitment, in this case, to the Andalusian market.

The Ikea space will be located in a premises of approximately�90 square meters�and will have an initial staff of around six people, according to reports from the company.
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www.ferreteria-y-bricolaje.cdecomunicacion.es

Cainz Finalises "Agreement on Supply of Goods in Times of Disaster" with Fukuoka Prefecture.

On April 28, Cainz (Saitama Prefecture) signed an agreement with Fukuoka Prefecture concerning the supply of goods in the event of a disaster.

The agreement stipulates that Fukuoka Prefecture and Cainz will promptly and smoothly supply supplies to rescue victims of earthquakes, storms, floods, and other disasters. In times of disaster, Cainz will supply food, bedding, daily necessities, fuel, etc. from its logistics bases upon request from Fukuoka Prefecture.

In addition, depending on the situation, stores in neighboring areas of Fukuoka Prefecture will supply supplies to support evacuees.
　
Cainz is promoting various initiatives such as concluding disaster-related agreements with local governments nationwide. With the conclusion of this agreement with Fukuoka Prefecture, Cainz has concluded 226 disaster-related agreements with local governments nationwide.
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www.diamond-rm.net

G7 Leaders Support Development of Global Sustainable Disclosure Standards.

Leaders of leading industrial nations at the Japan-hosted G7 summit in Hiroshima made a series of announcements in support of their Paris Agreement commitments to limit global temperature rise to 1.5�C, including supporting the development of the International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB) upcoming sustainability and climate-related corporate reporting standards, calling for an end of construction of new unabated coal-fired power plants, and supporting initiatives to ramp climate transition finance to developing countries.

One of the key climate-related issues highlighted in the communique released Saturday by the leaders of Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US, was the need to mobilizing finance to facilitate emissions reductions and climate resilient development, "especially including private finance focusing on further implementation and development of clean technologies and activities," alongside the G7's commitment "to consistent, comparable and reliable disclosure of information on sustainability including climate."

www.esgtoday.com

Why Car Parks are the Hottest Space in Solar Power.

There's more than just cars and empty spaces in this car park. Huge arrays of angled solar panels sit atop jet black steel supports, soaking up the sun and shading the vehicles beneath. Outside the offices of a major car manufacturer in the south of England, there are now more than 2,000 panels in total with a peak capacity of just under 1 megawatt (MW). That's enough to power hundreds of homes.

Solar car parks or car ports enable electricity production in open spaces that tend to be positioned conveniently near to energy-guzzling facilities such as hospitals, shopping centres or offices. The canopies have additional benefits in that they protect cars from rain and snow, or hot sun in the summer.

In a drive to boost clean energy production, the�French Senate recently approved�legislation that makes it mandatory for all existing and new car parks with 80 spaces or more to be covered by solar panels.

There is a huge opportunity to turn more British car parks into solar farms, according to a new report published by the countryside charity CPRE and the UCL Energy Institute. "We think the total potential in the built environment is about 117GW," says Prof Mark Barrett of UCL. "And of that, 11GW, we think, is car parks."
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www.bbc.com