Global market leader Home Depot has reported a drop in sales in the first quarter of its 2023/2024 fiscal year, with the US home improvement giant reporting sales of USD 37,257 bn (EUR 34,235 bn) from February to April, down 4.2 per cent on the same period last year. Like-for-like sales were down 4.5 per cent overall and 4.6 per cent in the US, the company said.
“After a three-year period of unprecedented growth for our sector, during which we grew sales by over USD 47 bn, 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,” says Ted Decker, chair, president and CEO. “While the near- term environment is uncertain, we remain very positive on the medium-to-long term outlook for home improvement and our ability to grow the share in a large and fragmented market.”