Although sales have increased in the past few years, the number of do-it-yourself stores in the Netherlands has decreased steadily over the past 10 years, the national statistics office CBS reported on Wednesday.

The number of DIY outlets in the Netherlands has fallen 6% to 4,960 since 2008, the CBS said. In particular, the number of mega-markets dropped to 1,270 last year from 1,355 in 2008.

DIY would appear to be most popular in Friesland, which had the most stores at 13 per 100,000 inhabitants.  By contrast, the heavily populated Randstad provinces of Noord- and Zuid-Holland had the fewest at five per 100,000 inhabitants.

Turnover across the sector rose by 7% in 2017 compared to the previous year as paint and tool shops benefited from the upswing in the housing market. The mega-stores fared the best within the sector, with a 6% gain in revenues year-on-year.