So, what did you do with your long weekend? After another frantic end to the tax year, I was happy to spend most of my time relaxing.

If, however, my local B&Q was anything to go by, a large number of people spent their weekend either catching up on gardening, or finally getting around to that DIY job they had been putting off since before Christmas.

The Easter weekend has traditionally been a key period for the DIY retailing market, which would have been made even busier by the much appreciated improvement in the weather, which I am sure will have spurred a number of people into the garden.

Although, historically, DIY demand has been driven by the housing market, this link is not as strong as it once was.

During a surge in house prices, home owners came to expect a healthy profit when they moved, and were encouraged to spend more on improving the appearance of their homes and gardens.

Rising prices ensured that houses changed hands frequently, which boosted DIY spend as new homeowners' tastes invariably differed to that of their predecessors.

In addition, the popularity of home improvement TV shows continues, helping to further increase the demand within the DIY market.

Many people now see their home as an extension of their style and a statement to their friends and family, and look to replace furnishings and fittings far quicker than was once the case.

So, has this helped to improve profits for the two main home improvement retailers, namely B&Q and Homebase? Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, reported an 11 per cent fall in full-year pre-tax profits for the year ending February 3.

Although Kingfisher is now a global company, it was the UK, its largest market, which had caused the problems.

Within the results, however, Kingfisher stated that when compared with the same period last year, the first three months of this year had seen a significant improvement. All eyes will, therefore, be watching Easter trading, which could be the springboard the company needs for a much-improved year ahead.

Although the UK and France are Kingfisher's major markets, over the past year, the company has expanded into nine countries and opened 27 stores, including its first in Russia. Kingfisher now has 700 stores in 11 countries across Europe and Asia.

This improvement in trading has also been reported by Homebase, owned by Home Retail Group, which also owns Argos. For the eight weeks to March 3, Homebase reported a 9.9 per cent rise in sales. The company will also be looking to build on this over the Easter weekend, which it will attempt to do through increased advertising and sales. With competition as fierce as it is, it will be interesting to see which company comes out on top.

With B&Q being touted as the home improvement equivalent of Tesco, its business model may yet be the more successful of the two. It is certainly true that many of the B&Q superstores are likely to attract people from a far wider catchment area, and entices them into spending more than they had originally anticipated.

As Kingfisher shares trade at a hefty premium to the market, shareholders may struggle to find the same bargain in the shares, as they would expect to find on B&Q's shelves.