The short trading day month of November 2019 saw subdued sales for merchants with the lowest total sales in 10 months, according to the Builders’ Merchant Building Index (BMBI).
Total Builders’ Merchant sales in November were down 7.4% compared with the same month in 2018. With one less trading day in the month, average sales per day were 3% down. The best performing sectors in November were Renewables & Water Saving (+5.3%) and Workwear & Safetywear (+3.7%). Calculated as average sales per day, Renewables & Water Saving were up 10.3%, while Workwear & Safetywear was up 8.6%.
Tools (-12.7%), Timber & Joinery (-9.6%), Ironmongery (-8.0%), Heavy Building Materials (-7.9%) and Landscaping (-7.4%) were particularly affected, although a little less dramatically on a sales-per-day basis (8.5%, -5.3%, -3.6%, -3.5% and -3.0% respectively).
Compared with the previous month of October 2019, November’s sales were 10.0% down. However, when adjusted for the two less trading days in November, sales were down 1.4%.
All product categories were down month-on-month, including Heavy Building Materials (-10.9%), Timber & Joinery (-10.0%), and Ironmongery (-9.8%). Adjusted for trading days, the strongest performing sectors were Workwear & Safetywear (+9.3%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (+8.0%).
Sales in the 12 months from December 2018 to November 2019 were down 0.2% on the same period last year. However, adjusting for one less trading day, year-to-date sales are slightly ahead at 0.2%.
November’s BMBI index was 113.4, with Plumbing, Heating & Electrical the highest at 134.6.
