Writing in the May 2023 issue of PBM, Editor Paul Davies considered the dramatic expansion in the range of services offered by the nation’s builders’ merchants.
Reflecting once again on the ‘Top 20’ merchant supplement that was the centrepiece of PBM’s April edition (and see here to take a look at some of the extra detail behind the numbers…), and it is striking to consider just how broad the range of services now offered by the merchant sector has become.
Clearly, the core philosophies remain the same — for instance, breaking bulk, the provision of trade accounts, deliveries and logistical support all reinforced by expert, specialist advice — whilst there has historically also been a tendency to define the merchant sector by looking at what it is not. The likes of Screwfix, B&Q TradePoint (and its forebears), the more specialist or niche outlets, digital providers and more were always viewed as ‘something else’
There may have been some overlap; they may target the same or at least similar customers to an extent, but they emphatically weren’t ‘merchants’ in the way that the industry itself typically recognises the term.
Undoubtedly, this remains the case for both specific and, in some instances, rather more intangible reasons. However, what is increasingly clear is that merchant sector businesses have broken free of the constraints that demarcated them just a few short years ago…
“What is increasingly clear is that merchant sector businesses have broken free of the constraints that demarcated them just a few short years ago…”
Broadly resisted for many years, the Covid pandemic turbocharged the development of ecommerce capabilities for numerous merchants. Similarly, many firms — generalists as well as plumbing & heating specialists — have greatly expanded their kitchens & bathrooms offering, and now boast showrooms that rival specialist retailers.
A full portfolio of doors & windows seemed to present insurmountable difficulties, with an effectively parallel supply chain meeting the needs of the market. Comprehensive tool and plant hire was equally often only a minority prospect.
Yet the dial has been shifting in recent years, and in the last few months alone we can cite a great number of examples — from our Top 20 and beyond — where hitherto additional extras are becoming standard practice. Elliotts and John A Stephens, for instance, are among the latest names to invest in ecommerce; IBMG is developing at the next phase of its hire platform, and the Bence Group has opened a brand-new Windows & Doors outlet…
Beyond diversifying the product portfolio, a wider ‘business services’ proposition can also be seen in many quarters. In February, we reported on City Plumbing’s introduction of a new digital tool intended to “help housing associations quickly and accurately diagnose heating system faults, identify replacement parts and improve the lives their tenants through better service.”
Social housing support services also hit the headlines in this issue with Travis Perkins Managed Services’ £36m, six-year contract win with the residential Services division of Lampton Services (a wholly owned subsidiary of the London Borough of Hounslow). In addition, a number of merchants — and the NMBS — are proactively challenging for specification orders by being listed in the latest Procurement for Housing framework for housing associations and local authorities, worth up to £1.42bn over four years.
Returning to Travis Perkins, the business recently introduced a “game-changing initiative” to provide SME housebuilders with access to bespoke funding through an escrow agreement with Close Brothers Property Finance. And we’ve not even touched upon the investment in renewables being made by so many, all intertwined with a mission to upskill installers to support the nation’s drive to improve the energy efficiency standards of both existing and new homes.
Indeed, there is so much more that could be said about the dramatic evolution of the merchant sector. As noted above, the historic foundations of the sector’s role and purpose remain strong, yet in response to changing and often challenging market conditions, the modern merchant is now so much more.
