Builders’ Merchants’ Q2 sales: A tale of resilience and recovery

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 -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 -38.6% compared with the same period in 2019.

Landscaping the strongest performer, was down -13.3% over the same period. The two largest product categories – Heavy Building Materials and Timber & Joinery Products – fell -38.4% and -39.8% respectively. Tools was weakest (-58.6%), followed by Kitchens & Bathrooms (-57.9%) and Plumbing, Heating & 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 -26.7%.

Index

The quarterly BMBI index for Total Builders Merchants was 76.4, with Landscaping ahead of all categories at 138.8.

BMBI Experts

The BMBI panel of leading brands across construction is an integral part of the Index. Positioned as authoritative voices of their markets, BMBI Experts add perspective, meaning and context to the data, with valuable and knowledgeable insights into key areas of construction and building materials supply. Catch their latest comments in the Q2 Report.