A strong finish for Merchants in 2016  


BMBIby MRA Marketing
27 February 2017

“2016 was a successful year for generalist builders’ merchants, with revenues of over £5.44bn and sales value growth of 5.2% on the previous year. A strong final quarter’s performance (up 5.5% on the previous year) contributed to the overall success of 2016,” says Ricky Coombes, Channel Manager at GfK, which provides the top line data for the Builders Merchant Building Index.  

“Heavy Building Materials, the most valuable category, performed in line with the total channel. It grew 5.8% on 2015, driven by several key sub-categories, such as Roofing Products, Lintels and Plaster/Plasterboards”. Timber & Joinery Products, the second-largest category, was up 3.8%.  

Kitchens & Bathrooms (+7.9% on December 2015), Heavy Building Materials (the largest category, +6.5%) and Landscaping (+5.7%) outperformed merchants generally in December 2016 compared with 2015.  

Landscaping also performed well in Q4, up 10.3% on Q4, 2015. Heavy Building Materials (+7.1%), Kitchens & Bathrooms (+5.9%) and Ironmongery (+5.6%) were stronger than merchants generally. Most categories sold more this year.  

December’s Builders Merchant Building Index (77.1) was affected by fewer trading days in the month, although less so when adjusted to reflect average sales per day (94.1). The fourth quarter (100.9) was in line with the Index but ahead when adjusted for trading days (104.7).  

John Newcomb, Managing Director Builders Merchants Federation said: “Despite fears around the Brexit vote mid-year, another strong set of results for the final quarter of the year is encouraging. The BMF’s own Sales Indicators, which confirm that the final quarter of 2016 wrapped up three years of growth in the sector, provide a valuable insight into regional sales. Some of the highest percentage increases are currently occurring outside London and the South East, which are normally considered the busiest areas.”    

The Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI)
The BMBI is a brand of the BMF. The BMBI report, which is produced and managed by MRA Marketing, uses GfK’s Builders Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data which analyses sales out data from over 80% of generalist builders’ merchants’ sales across Great Britain. The full report is on www.bmbi.co.uk.