July proves successful for Builders’ Merchant value sales

July 2017 has proven particularly successful for merchants with Total Builders’ Merchant value sales to builders and contractors up 7.0% compared with last July.

Overall, July was 0.9% lower than the previous month – four of the twelve categories sold more. Average sales per day in July were 3.9% ahead of June and most categories were up.

In addition, the first seven months of 2017 have seen an increase of 4.3% compared to the same period in 2016. Sales throughout the second quarter of 2017 fell back by 10% compared to the second quarter of 2016.

Paul Rivett, Managing Director Heatrae Sadia, BMBI‘s Expert for Water Heating said: “The picture is more complex than the headline view, with domestic hot water storage cylinders declining more than electric commercial water heating or boiling water dispensers, which remained relatively flat.

“Electric boiler sales were consistent with last year, driven by the trend of replacing gas boiler in flats and apartments with electric powered versions, due to more stringent regulations for installing gas boilers and flues in this type of dwelling. This is a trend that is set to continue, along with the increased use of offsite package solutions for flats and apartments. As skilled labour becomes harder to find, those solutions provide the specifier and developer with more control of quality, design and installation cost.”