hAI bUsINEss INDEX Q2 2018 results examine positive impact of sunshine on business

bUsINEss INDEX – QUArtEr 2 2018 rEsULts

158 member branches are included in the HAI Business Index. On average, member firms were up 10% year-on-year for Quarter 2 2018. A positive second quarter following a sluggish start to the year, no doubt impacted by the good weather in May/June. 77% of members indicate the summer heatwave had a positive impact on their garden/ outdoor sales turnover. The positive year-on-year performance for Quarter 2 peaks among Dublin member firms, followed by the Rest of Leinster, Connacht/Ulster and Munster. Smaller hardwares had an outstanding second quarter with 23% growth on 2017 – must have been the increase in fly spray/ repellent sales! The Quarter 2 monthly moving average is an increase of 6%. The decline between May and June is similar to last year (June 2017 = 95%). The monthly moving average for Quarter 2 is very consistent across member groups.

How to get involved

The more retailers and merchants involved in contributing to the index, the more robust the data. All raw data is kept confidential and never revealed to HAI. If you agree to participate in the monthly business index, you will receive an email from Behaviours and Attitudes, our research partner, once a quarter (usually at the start of the second week), asking for several pieces of information that will form the benchmark survey: Number of employees Location of business What type of area your business operates in, i.e. to get an urban/ rural split Annual sales turnover (less VAT) for your business for 2017 broken down by month Sales turnover per month for 2018 Once this benchmark is complete you will only be asked for one piece of information each quarter thereafter, sales turnover per month for the quarter. Please call 01 298 0968 for more information and to participate.

What our members say

Padraic Rogers, Owner Topline Rogers, Ballymote, Co. Sligo “We at Topline Rogers are finding Hardware Association Ireland’s business index a great help to our business. We are finding it great being able to compare our business performance against people in our region with a similar size business, it’s a great help. It helps us plan and project for where our business is going. It’s very timely for our industry, pity it didn’t happen years ago!”

Stephen Blewitt, General Manager Agribusiness, Aurivo “The benefits to our business are: 1. With 35 retail outlets spread geographically across eight counties and three provinces, we find the breakdown of regions very useful in the report. 2. To be the best you need to compare yourself to the industry and the monthly benchmarks help us decipher the areas we are over or underperforming in versus the industry. 3. The fact it is completely anonymous gives us the confidence to be totally open with the figures we provide.”