Record edition of Bricoday kicks off: almost 500 companies at Fiera Milano Rho (September 24–25) for a DIY market exceeding €13.5 billion in Italy. DIY superstore sales in the first half of 2025 above €3 billion. Hardware worth €17 billion, with 20% of the market online.
25,000 sqm dedicated to the worlds of DIY, technical, home, and garden. Exhibitors up by 20%. 10,000 visitors expected.
On September 24 and 25 Bricoday returns, now in its 17th edition: the leading professional event in Italy and among the most important internationally for the DIY, Technical, Home, and Garden sectors.
For two days, 25,000 sqm of halls 22 and 24 of Fiera Milano Rho will turn into a huge showcase dedicated to every area of the Brico-Garden world, offering a complete overview of trends, data, innovations, new products, and future scenarios for the sector and its supply chains: 169 exhibitors from the “Home” sector, 27 Lighting companies, 196 DIY and Technical brands, 68 Garden businesses, 34 booths dedicated to innovation and digitalisation.
“We are very satisfied with the results achieved,” says Maurizio Casolaro, head of the fair. “We are recording the presence of new, big names in every sector, the participation of dozens of selected buyers from across Europe, a significant increase in foreign exhibitors, and the growing presence of leading specialised retail chains visiting.”
The DIY and Home Improvement market
Internationally, according to data from the latest Home Improvement Report Retail Worldwide*, the largest national market for the DIY industry in 2023 is the USA (€278 billion), followed by China (€136 billion). In Europe, the sector generated a total of €28.9 billion in Germany, €21.8 billion in France, and €16.7 billion in the United Kingdom.
From auto and motorcycle accessories to bathroom thermohydraulic, from interior decoration to hardware, from construction to air conditioning, from gardening to lighting, through wood, flooring, tools, and paints: the 2025 edition of Bricoday will feature nearly 500 companies (494, up 20%), ranging from major international brands to niche proposals.
A strong representation of a rapidly growing market, which according to data from the Non-Food Observatory is worth €13.5 billion in Italy, and has been growing for a decade.
The Italian market in the first half of 2025, in the DIY superstore channel alone (a channel that in 2024 closed the year with sales of €6.3 billion) – based on previews of what will be presented at the fair on September 24 by Gfk–an NIQ Company – exceeded €3 billion in sales.
It is a mixed balance sheet – a slight drop of 0.9% compared to the first half of 2024 – but it shows a much better trend compared to the 8.8% sales decline that marked the first half of 2024 versus the previous year. It highlights the boom of the entire Garden sector (+6.9%), double-digit growth in several DIY segments (electrical material, walls and flooring, construction, followed by automotive), and at the same time the difficulties of some Home segments (especially sanitary ware and appliances, penalised by their strong 2024 performance).
*Report produced in collaboration with the international DIY trade associations Edra/Ghin, the international manufacturers’ association Hima, and Dähne Verlag. Press
The Home sector
The Home world, which ART – the Confcommercio association representing companies in tableware, kitchenware, gift, and home decoration, including manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers – has “photographed” in view of Bricoday, recorded in Q2 2025 good signs of growth for the household market, driven by exports and retail.
Between April and June 2025, 64% of companies in the sector declared an increase in turnover compared to the same period in 2024, with positive year-end expectations linked to the retail channel: 50% of businesses foresee an increase over 2024, while 29% expect substantial stability.
Hardware: €17 billion turnover, online sales growing
Another well-represented sector at Bricoday is Hardware. A sector undergoing profound digital transformation, driven by the expansion of e-commerce and the increasing adoption of AI.
According to the latest data from the Permanent Observatory on Multi & Omnichannel Hardware OPMF – Bricoday’s partner – in 2024 the value of e-commerce in the sector reached €3.4 billion in Italy, equal to 20% (up from 5% in 2018) of the total volume, which nears €17 billion (Assofermet data).
According to the report, over 33% of hardware stores are online, through proprietary e-commerce or marketplaces. The omnichannel trend is strongly growing, with a projected 17% increase in 2025–2026.
The most active user target is mainly in the 25–45 age group (60%), while the shares of 45–60-year-olds (32%) and very young users are increasing, now at 8% (vs 2% in 2023).
Gardening: market rebounds in 2025
According to recent Gfk research, 64% of the population (IT) declares a passion for plants and gardening: an increase of 3 percentage points compared to three years ago.
Whether balconies (73%), terraces (47%), gardens (39%), or vegetable patches (23%), greenery care engages all age groups, with 43% of Italians (a growing figure) regularly tending plants and 26% using outdoor spaces for convivial moments, such as barbecues and outdoor lunches.
After the strong growth in 2020–2021, the Garden sector in DIY superstores recorded in 2024 a 4.8% contraction, with revenues of €641.6 million. However, the excellent performance of sales in the first half of 2025 (+6.9%) suggests a possible surpassing of that result by year-end.
The giants of innovation at Bricoday
The Digital Village, the themed exhibition dedicated to innovation within Bricoday and organised in collaboration with OPMF, represents the beating heart of innovation for the brico-home-garden sector. A truly immersive journey among technologies, services, and digital strategies radically transforming the market, both in B2B and B2C.
Testifying to this change will be some of the most important players in the digital world, including Google, Microsoft, Nexi, Zucchetti, Visa, Cofidis, and many other leading names.
From sales network management to payment systems, from virtual assistants to full-funnel analysis, through fintech, marketplaces, artificial intelligence, cloud, big data, and process digitalisation: the language of innovation is now an integral part of the sector’s supply chains, and will be central to both the exhibition and the event’s content.
Contents and previews
The profile of the DIYer
The passion of millions of Italians for DIY remains strong and rooted, a broad and varied world ranging from hardware to woodworking, car maintenance to gardening, and home renovation. According to a recent Compass study, the reasons driving purchases in this area are multiple: saving money is the main lever (about 40%), followed by self-gratification (1 in 3 buyers), the search for relaxation (1 in 4), and the desire to express creativity. Press
Manual work with tools and hardware accounts for 70% of cases (80% men), and gardening (7 out of 10, equally divided between genders) is in the lead.
Other activities follow: electrical work (mainly men), space organisation (shelves, bookcases, boxes), painting and decorating (over 60%), domestic plumbing, and replacing bathroom and kitchen furniture and components. In between, car care, mostly male (72% vs. 53% for women).
“Garden” and outdoor experiences, also mainly male, include vegetable gardening, maintenance of ovens and barbecues, and pool-related activities.
Italians willing to spend more
The opening conference of Bricoday 2025 (September 24, 2:00 p.m.) titled Scenarios 2025–2026 in the DIY market between new trends and strategies will offer the usual exclusive overview of data, trends, and strategies with TradeLab (focus on franchising). This will be followed by Gfk–an NIQ Company’s presentation on Italian DIY and Home Improvement market trends.
A striking finding from the research is that 60% (up from 54% in the previous survey) of the “core target” of the population is willing to pay more for products that simplify life, 30% (up from 22%) for personalisation, and 31% (up from 19%) consider themselves “early adopters” among their acquaintances.
Before the closing roundtable with some distribution leaders (Bricocenter, Bricolife, CFadda, OBI Italia), Prof. Vincenzo Russo (IULM) will present the research results from the Neuromarketing Research Center – BrainLab on consumer behavior in DIY retail stores.
Innovation, digitalisation, and AI will also be central to both the September 25 conference (Phygital retail, the great transition between AI and sustainability, 10:30 a.m.) and the Digital Village Talks distributed across the two days of the event, organised in collaboration with OPMF.
The conference will feature the introduction by Alessandra Fraschini (OPMF), the premiere presentation of data from the 2025 Multichannel Hardware Observatory, and the launch of OPMF PRO, the new aggregating platform for hardware stores across physical and online channels. This will be followed by a roundtable on efficiency in business processes, with experts in customer care, sales, and digitalisation.
Key moments include: an interview with Gustavo Huss (Bosch) on the future of the specialised store, a focus on Retail Media with Valiuz and Leroy Merlin, and insights on generative AI with Microsoft and Google.
Closing with a roundtable on Marketplaces and eCommerce, with Aosom, Leroy Merlin, and legal experts, dedicated to new European regulations (DSA, DMA, EAA) governing digital trade.
Digital Village Talks
Two days of in-depth discussion on the digital transformation in the Brico & DIY world, with continuous workshops, company contributions, and professional testimonials on shopping experience, efficiency of sales processes, marketplaces, multichannel management, SEO tools, UX, and content.
On the official website BRICODAY.COM it is possible to consult the exhibitor catalogue and register to download the free entry ticket.
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