Summary
• The majority of timber fire doors supplied to the construction sector have been via merchants.
• Most major merchants supply Wood Window Alliance members’ windows.
• The next challenge is to persuade merchants to stock BWF Stair Scheme certificated products.
• Value-added products are vital in a recession.
Other than some strong relationships between the timber industry’s big firms, the connections between most of the UK’s joinery manufacturers and builders merchants are relatively limited. Products most likely to be stocked by merchants include doors, windows and stairparts, with the preference being for simpler, standard products. But the relationship between joinery manufacturers and merchants, while undoubtedly demanding, can be rewarding.
For example, the vast majority of timber fire doors supplied to the construction sector has been via merchants. But as John Fletcher, BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme manager, explains, the impact of fire safety legislation such as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, commonly known as the RRO, is now putting a lot more pressure on suppliers to ensure the certification of those doors.
“There’s a huge market opportunity for merchants to sell the right products and all the relevant certificated components for a fire door assembly,” he said. “The message is starting to get through to building owners and managers: if you cut corners, buy cheap or inadequate products, you will get fined.”
Approved fire door centres
Mr Fletcher also points to the success of the BWF-CERTIFIRE Scheme’s Approved Fire Door Centres – in effect, shops within shops, where certificated fire doorsets and approved fire door components are stocked by trained and knowledgeable merchants.
The adoption of this concept has been most marked in the independent sector, with merchants such as Alsford Timber, Robert Price Builders Merchants, Howarth Timber and Building Supplies and LBS Builders Merchants all becoming Approved Fire Door Centres and adding value to their fire door sales.
But other commentators blame an underlying conservatism, especially among the major builders merchants, for being much slower at changing their approach, and there is frustration that they remain so wedded to the concept of selling a fire door leaf with an unrelated (and often an uncertificated) set of ironmongery and other components that make it much harder to install a ‘legal’ fire door assembly.
However, another picture of increasing emphasis on quality products emerges with windows, with Wood Window Alliance members’ windows now being found in the catalogues of most of the major merchants. And John Fletcher says that the trend towards pre-finished, pre-glazed windows is also set to continue, especially with the introduction of CE marking, which will indicate a product’s performance.
Stair scheme
The next challenge will be to persuade merchants of the benefits of stocking stairs performance-certificated by the BWF Stair Scheme.
One approach that may help is the sort of collaboration now being seen between timber suppliers and merchants. A recent example of this was the ‘Good for Wood Too’ campaign, a concerted six-month marketing push in Build Center and Timber Center branches to sell more timber to new and existing customers.
Working closely with key suppliers Finnforest and BSW, the Build Center team set very clear, specific and measurable objectives for both sales volume and profit margin for machined and sawn softwood products. Finnforest and BSW’s sales teams visited branches regularly in order to help with merchandising and product labelling, while also offering advice on the local market and optimum stocking solutions to help maintain product quality.
Award-winning marketing
This well-planned, thoughtfully co-ordinated and professionally implemented campaign won the TTJ Excellence in Marketing Award this year.
Best of all, the campaign was measured every inch of the way so everyone could identify the return on investment. It was an impressive, text book case of highly focused marketing to boost bottom line results, and an example of just what is possible when suppliers and merchants work closely together to get good products to the building industry.
John Fletcher agrees this is the way forward: “Our overriding message to merchants is that, in a recession, there is a market imperative to provide added-value products to the customer, and that means selling certificated products which you know will deliver good quality and proven performance.
“All merchants should look to find out what the local market wants, especially changing or emerging markets,” he said. “They should stock the right products and work with the supplier and manufacturer to display and market it well.”
