Worldwide Business Information and Market Reports

Telephone +44 1404 891528 Fax +44 1404 891717 Email reportfinder @ tiscali.co.uk

Join the ReportFinder mailing list and be told of new reports

Email:

ISBN 1-84168-123-7

Editor: Jenny Baxter

This report covers: builders' merchants, diy stores,bricks, roofing tiles, cement, sand, gravel, private contractors, RMI, repair, maintenance, improvement

Companies covered include: Wolseley, meyer International, Travis perkins, Graham Group, Jackson Building Centres, Cooper Clarke Group, Ridgeon Group, WTB Group, William Wilson Holdings, Homebase, Wickes, Focus Do It All

GO TO LATEST EDITION

Executive Summary

Table of Contents

Back to Retailing & Wholesaling Index and Shopping Cart

Back To REPORTFINDER home page and Search Engine

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sales through builders’ merchants reached an estimated £8.57bn in 1999, following a 4.5 percent increase on 1998. The market is broadly divided into three sectors: heavy side (bricks, cement, drainage pipes, roofing tiles, sand and gravel, timber, etc.); light side (internal fittings and materials for bathrooms, kitchens, heating, plumbing, etc.); and tools and tool hire. Deliveries, stocks and international trade statistics are given for principal product categories.

As builders’ merchants’ main customer, the construction market is discussed in terms of its major segments: housebuilding, commercial, industrial, and repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) work. Structurally, the builders’ merchants market underwent important changes in 1999/2000. Following the recent acquisition of Graham Group PLC by Meyer International PLC (which owns Jewson Ltd), the market is dominated by three companies — Wolseley PLC, Jewson Ltd and Travis Perkins PLC. These companies have a combined UK turnover of £3bn, or 35 percent of the market. In 2000, Meyer International was bought by St Gobain of France.

DIY stores continue to compete with builders’ merchants for business from small contractors. This forms a large part of the market, since 84 percent of all private contractors (of which there are 135,755) employ fewer than four people. The major DIY stores — B&Q, Homebase, Focus Do It All and Wickes — continue to grow in terms of turnover, number of outlets and their interest in trade business. There is also the prospect of Home Direct and other huge US DIY stores entering the European market. Environmental regulations and related taxes are now being applied to the construction industry with increasing vigour. At grass roots level, there is a need for builders’ merchants to be more aware of customer care and to invest in training.

In view of the current downward trend in the housing market, the future for builders’ merchants is difficult to predict. Key Note forecasts that sales will rise by 4 percent to £8.91bn in 2000 and, thereafter, increase annually to reach £9.98bn in 2004.

Back to Top

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Text © 2000 Key Note

Back to Top

Back To REPORTFINDER HOME PAGE

Ariadne - working together with our customers to enhance productivity and increase knowledge

© 2000 www.the-list.co.uk Ariadne

Last updated by Jacob van Eldik 22th November 2000