106
Cold comfort at
DIY conference
Brintex Events, organisers of the ‘Totally’ “DIY has lost some of its popularity,” he said
Shows at Earls Court, London, this year pointing to January 2008 research that shows
staged a conference to mark fifteen years it falling well below holidays and leisure
of the event. Speakers were challenged to breaks as preferred major expenditure. “The
outline the future for DIY retailing. home has fallen off the scale,” indicating he
Richard Perks, director of Retail Research believed “a major shift in attitudes”.
at Mintel, hardly opened on a reassuring Would this change in recession?
note, greeting his 80 strong audience with: Undoubtedly people were now spending
“It will get worse before it gets better.” more time at home, he said, but questioned
Based on government figures (ONS), he said, whether they would spend more money on
UK retail sales for the first half of 2008 had the home. After the last UK recession, during
been “incredibly strong” and “not much which DIY did suffer, the driving force for
lower in the second half either”. British Retail growth had been larger stores combined with
Consortium figures, in contrast, showed a the influx of foreign workers offering services
plunging sales line as the year progressed. to householders.
ONS data, he explained, excluded DIY store “If people cannot move they will spend
sales to trade, boosted in the first half by more money on their home” was a fallacy,
Diarmuid Walsh,
migrant building labour activity but then he said. “If people don’t have money they
trading director for B&Q
impacted by the housing decline. The overall are not going to spend - even on something
UK retail market in 2008 had been sustained that could save them money in the long
scale” to drive value, “building a value chain”
by the 18-25 age group not directly impacted term”.
that “may sound like semantics” but meant a
by housing concerns. However, in 2009, said The only “brighter spot” Richard Perks
more precise focus on what the customer
Perks, they would “really feel the pinch” as could offer related to demographics that
needed. Availability, inventory and cost were
unemployment increased. pointed to a net increase in population in the
key to delivering the B&Q commitments, he
25-55 year old key DIY activity age range.
emphasised. The key to meeting the trust
“That is the most optimistic thing I have to say
expectation, he said, was execution in every
today,” he added wryly. On the other hand,
store, motivating a recent “Martini” campaign
he said, the short term impact of increased
to ensure consistency of experience “Any
rental housing would be bad news because
time, any place, any where”.
“renters do not spend money on DIY.”
Stores had been divided into “shops within
He applauded, however, the trend for DIY
shops”, each a business in its own right
stores to become “homes for ideas”
expected to take on specialist competitors.
believing the “challenge will be for DIY
Category areas were “physically clearly
retailers to get people into their stores and
defined” with staff in larger stores dedicated
buying.” In closing he spoke of a “tough
to each category to build “a body of
couple of years” and reiterated “we cannot
knowledge and expertise”.
have any recovery until the banks start
Thinking beyond what happens in the
lending again, and who knows when that
will be.”
store, B&Q is investing heavily in its online
Diarmuid Walsh, a trading director for B&Q,
presence, “making it easier to shop, easier to
used a series of TV advertisements to
buy and easier to find expert advice”. A new
highlight the company’s transition from
version of DIY.com goes live in February. B&Q
targeting traditional DIYers to emphasis on
will also rollout a successfully trialed “reserve
projects in the home and accommodated
and collect” service.
Richard Perks, director of
growing demand for work “done for them”.
“This is an unforgiving market, there is no
Retail Research at Mintel
More recently, said Walsh, B&Q had returned
room for fluff,” Walsh emphasised. His final
to featuring employees in its advertisements, advice: “Don’t just think about surviving today,
responding to a sharp shift in customer think about what the future will look like.”
DIY, Perks reminded, was not protected in priorities “from wants to needs”. Other speakers included: John Herbert,
downturn - purchases were still discretionary. Walsh argued that customers now general secretary of the European DIY Retail
He argued that “this downturn in DIY had demanded “Value, Trust and Confidence” Association; Vin Vara, managing director of
started much earlier” pointing to a 2004 emphasising that B&Q had to deliver on all The Tool Shop; and Alan Hawkins CEO of the
sales peak followed by decline ever since. its commitments. The group would “use our British Hardware Federation.
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