According to the Construction Purchasing Managers Index, the construction market is showing its longest decline since the financial crisis. The Government’s rhetoric on building 300,000 houses a year in this parliament, once an ambitious target, now seems no more than a pipe dream, and this is perhaps reflected in the downward trend in merchant sales. With ironmongery one of the worst performing categories, it is no real surprise that the market for fasteners and fixings has remained subdued.  However, this does mean that should the market suddenly pick up, suppliers are well placed to meet demand.

With sales value and volume both under extreme pressure, the challenge seems to be to maximise return from the sales that can be made in a weak market. Like many other categories, fasteners and fixings do provide some opportunities to upsell and maximise sales made per customer store visit. For example, Owlett-Jaton  provide product ranges and brands which allow the merchant opportunities to upsell to a higher performance level and a higher price point. Our Vortex range of high-performance woodscrews provides such an opportunity, incorporating not just high-performance screws for indoor use, but also an exterior range and specialist products for floorboard and tongue and groove application. This is all backed up with a wide selection of merchandising stands and free-standing units to communicate the benefits of the products.

Another tactic which could be considered is broadening ranges at the expense of stock depth, where short lead times minimise any risk of stock-outs. Owlett-Jaton for example offers merchants a next-day delivery service for orders placed before 17.30, an ideal way to broaden ranges and still maximise availability.

The launch of the Data Yard initiative by BMF and NMBS is another sign of the increasing importance of data at all levels of the supply chain. This new initiative will make available all the data merchants need in one place. Owlett-Jaton is proud to be an early adopter of this excellent initiative. The reliance on data across our whole supply chain does, however, remind us of the risks of cyber-attack. The recent experiences of M&S and JLR remind us all of the need for top-rate cybersecurity – everyone is a potential target.