The BMBI results for Quarter 2 show the phenomenal resilience of the sector in action.
April, May and June couldn’t have been more different. April, in almost full lockdown, fell by 76.5% year-on-year, May recovered to -39.9% as restrictions started to ease, and June grew +2.2%, helped by two more trading days this year, more relaxed restrictions and a booming landscaping category.
Year on year
Total builders merchants value sales in Q2 2020 (unadjusted for trading days) fell by 38.6% compared with the same period in 2019.
Landscaping, the strongest performer, was down by 13.3% over the same period. The two largest product categories – heavy building materials and timber and joinery products – fell by 38.4% and by 39.8% respectively.
Tools was weakest (-58.6%), followed by kitchens and bathrooms (-57.9%) and plumbing, heating and electrical (-53.1%).
Quarter On Quarter
Total value sales dropped by 27.2% in Q2 2020 compared with the previous quarter. All categories declined except for landscaping (+38.7%). Heavy building materials was down by 26.7% and timber and joinery products was down by 28.1%.
Month On Month
However, it was more positive for timber and joinery products month-on-month, as the only category among three to show an improvement in sales in June 2020 compared to June 2019 (+1.4%).
Fencing and gates did well and decking more than doubled in value. The biggest category surge over this period was from landscaping (+50.3%).
Index
The quarterly BMBI index for total builders merchants was 76.4, with landscaping ahead of all categories at 138.8. The index fr timber and joinery products was 78.0.
