BMBI
The UK’s Leading Glass & Glazing Newspaper
BUILDERS MERCHANT BUILDING INDEX
BUILDERS MERCHANTS’ SALES RESILIENT IN JANUARY The latest Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) report, published in March, shows that total builders merchants’ value sales in January were 3.7% lower than in January 2020, as the country went into lockdown for the third time. However, average sales a day, which take trading day differences into account, were 5.9% higher than in January 2020. YEAR-ON-YEAR Year-on-year growth was driven primarily by three product categories. The largest contribution was made by Timber & Joinery Products, for which sales were up 7.7% on January 2020, while Landscaping (+3.7%)
and Workwear & Safetywear (+2.4%) sales were also above last January’s level. However, indoor trades appear to have been negatively affected by the return to lockdown, resulting in falls in the Plumbing Heating & Electrical (-11.9%), Kitchens & Bathrooms (-13.5%) and Decorating (-17.2%) categories.
MONTH-ON-MONTH Total Merchants’ January sales were 20.6% higher than in December, helped by three more trading days. Workwear
& Safetywear (+39.1%) did best, with Timber & Joinery Products and Heavy Building Materials also performing well. Seven categories grew more slowly, including Plumbing Heating & Electrical (+15.8%), Decorating (+12.5%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+8.0%).
OTHER PERIODS Total sales in the last three months (November 2020 to January 2021) were 4.4% higher than in November 2019 to January 2020, with no difference in trading days. Landscaping was particularly
Total Builders Merchants Monthly Sales Index - Year-on-Year Total sales
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Average sales a day
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strong, increasing by 19.1%, but Timber & Joinery Products (+14.2%) and Heavy Building Materials (+2.9%) were the only other categories selling more. Sales of Workwear & Safetywear equalled last year, but all other categories sold less, with Decorating (-8.0%) doing least well. Sales in the 12 months February 2020 to January 2021 were 10.8% lower than in the preceding 12 months. Only Landscaping (+5.7%) sold more. Workwear & Safetywear and Timber & Joinery Products did better than merchants overall. Tools (-20.4%) was weakest, closely followed by Plumbing Heating & Electrical (-19.9%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (-19.2%). However as the first anniversary of Lockdown 1 approaches, with its severe impact on sales in April and May 2020, the scope of returning to year-on-year growth can be anticipated.
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January’s BMBI index was 100.7, with Workwear & Safetywear the strongest at 122.3, followed by Timber & Joinery Products (120.0).
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GfK’s Builders Merchant Panel GfK’s Merchant Panel includes national, multi-regional and regional merchants such as Buildbase, Jewson, Travis Perkins, EH Smith, Gibbs & Dandy, MKM and Bradfords. GfK’s Builders’ Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data represents more than 80% of the value of the builders’ merchant market. GfK insights can trace product group performance and track relevant features. GfK can also produce robust like-for-like market comparability, tailored to the requirements of an individual business. The Builders Merchant Building Index Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) appears every month, in print and online. A full quarterly report is published every three months. The BMBI is a brand of the Builders Merchant Federation. Launched and produced by MRA Research, it uses sales-out data from GfK’s Builders Merchant Panel. BMBI includes a panel of leading industry Experts, who speak exclusively for their markets.
For the full report, including comments from the BMBI’s panel of leading industry Experts, please visit www.bmbi.co.uk.
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© BMBI 2021
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