Total Builders Merchants February 2022 value sales were 22.9% higher than the same month last year, with no difference in trading days. However, this was driven more by price inflation (+13.4%) than volume growth (+8.3%). All categories sold more. Landscaping (+33.7%) did best. Five categories did better than Merchants overall, including Timber and Joinery Products (+25.6%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+25.2%). Plumbing, Heating and Electrical (+15.0%), Decorating (+14.2%), and Tools (+8.8%) grew more slowly. Workwear & Safetywear (+1.0%) was weakest.
February 2022 v February 2019
Total sales in February 2022 were 22.6% higher than the same month three years ago (pre-Covid), with no difference in trading days. All categories sold more, with overall growth driven by the strength of two categories: Landscaping (+51.1%) and Timber & Joinery Products (+38.3%). Other categories grew more slowly, including Kitchen & Bathrooms (+17.4%), Heavy Building Materials (+16.5%) and Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+10.4%). Tools (+3.9%) had the lowest growth.
February 2022 v January 2022
Total Merchants sales were 7.5% higher in February 2022 than in January 2022, with no difference in trading days. Nine out of twelve categories sold more. Landscaping (+28.6%) did best, followed by Kitchens & Bathrooms (+10.6%) and Heavy Building Materials (+7.7%). Workwear & Safetywear (-2.8%), Miscellaneous (-4.5%) and Renewables & Water Saving (-5.0%) were weakest.
February Index
February’s overall BMBI index was 134.4, particularly helped by Timber & Joinery Products (161.8). Almost all categories recorded indices over 100, including Landscaping (149.5), Kitchens & Bathrooms (134.5) and Heavy Building Materials (125.4). Only Renewables & Water Saving (80.9) was below 100.
December 2021-February 2022 v December 2020-February 2021
Total sales in the last three months were up 21.4% on the same period last year, with no difference in trading days. All categories sold more. Landscaping (+28.0%) was strongest, closely followed by Timber & Joinery Products (+27.5%). Kitchens & Bathrooms (+22.0%), Heavy Building Materials (+20.1%) and Plumbing Heating & Electrical (+15.0%) also grew strongly. Only two categories failed to achieve double-digit growth, Tools (+8.7%) and Workwear & Safetywear (+0.1%).
December 2021-February 2022 v December 2018-February 2019
Compared with the same months three years ago, sales in December 2021 to February 2022 were 20.5% higher, with no difference in trading days. All categories sold more. Two categories did particularly well: Landscaping (+42.9%) and Timber & Joinery Products (+38.4%). Slower growing categories included Kitchens & Bathrooms (+15.6%), Heavy Building Materials (+14.5%) and Ironmongery (+6.2%). Tools (+0.3%) was flat.
December 2021-February 2022 v September-November 2021
Total sales in the latest three months were 17.7% lower than in the previous three months – broadly in line with seasonal norms and not helped by eight less trading days in the most recent period. All categories sold less. Renewables & Water Saving (-0.5%) did best. Seasonal category Landscaping (-22.8%) was weakest. Overall like-for-like sales (which take trading day differences into account) were 6.2% lower than in September to November 2021.
MAT
Total Merchants sales in the 12 months March 2021 to February 2022 were 34.6% higher than in the same 12 months a year earlier, with no difference in trading days. All categories sold more. Timber & Joinery Products (+54.1%) was significantly ahead of other product categories. Most categories grew more slowly than Merchants overall including Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (+28.9%), Heavy Building Materials (+28.4%) and Decorating (+23.6%). Growth in Workwear & Safetywear (+2.9%) was much slower.
3-year MAT
Total Merchants sales in March 2021 to February 2022 were 19.3% higher than in the 12-months March 2018 to February 2019, with one less trading day in the most recent period. Ten categories sold more, with Timber & Joinery Products (+44.9%) and Landscaping (+44.8%) well out in front. Other categories saw much lower growth including Heavy Building Materials (+10.7%), Kitchens & Bathrooms (+5.8%) and Ironmongery (+5.5%). Two categories sold less: Decorating (-0.1%) and Tools (-6.0%). Total like-for-like sales were 19.8% higher.
