MARKET PREDICTIONS
LOOKING ABOVE AND AHEAD
Dean Weldon, national accounts director at Marley, discusses what’s in store for the roofing sector in 2019.
2018 WAS A mixed year for roofing sales. While on the whole it was positive, growth was limited by extreme weather at the start of the year and uncertainty about Brexit towards the end. With signs of the market slowing down as we head towards the March 2019 deadline, some housebuilders have had to react in the short term by reducing purchase prices and starting to cut cost from some product specifications. There has also been some reduction in RMI activity, with homeowners more cautious about taking on debt because of economic uncertainty. Positive market indicators come from a further look ahead in 2019 and suggestions that housebuilders will actually be looking to increase build programmes overall this year. In addition, there is still opportunity for growth in the merchant sector and the low cost of borrowing means that some independent merchants are already planning to expand and open up new branches.
Aside from Brexit, labour shortages are the biggest threat to the roofing sector in 2019. This is likely to bring more demand for quick, easy-to-install products and merchants can stock some of the latest innovative products to help customers overcome this challenge. Our constant focus on innovation has seen us continue to launch a number of unique solutions, which deliver time savings as a key benefit. These include our new Ashmore Dry
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Verge, the Universal Eaves Clip and Batten End Clip, which are all designed to be both quicker and easier to install and meet current British Standards. We’re also working on other innovations, which will come to the market later in 2019.
Increased product selection for pitched roof installation is important for merchants this year. Whether customers choose to use a traditional plain tile, or an easy to fix interlocking tile or slate, merchants need to be able to offer their customers a choice about how they install a roof to suit their aesthetic, budgetary and skills needs. We have a wide range of products included in our complete pitched roof systems, so we’d encourage merchants to come and talk to us so we can help them meet the needs of their customers – whatever they may be.
Full stock
Offering a wide range of products, to suit all customer needs, lends itself to stocking a full roof system as this means merchants can maximise sales on all elements and this is a real opportunity in the roofing sector in 2019. Why just sell the roof tiles when the average roof has 20 to 22 different products on it? Selling a full pitched roof system as a package is much easier for staff to sell because all of the components are included. It’s also worth considering that, as weather becomes more
extreme and roofing standards more stringent, reducing their risk and liability is becoming more of a concern for contractors. This is where using a full roof system from one manufacturer, like Marley, can deliver real peace of mind to contractors; offering guaranteed compatibility and compliance, alongside a 15- year warranty. In addition, the benefits of recommending a full roof system can also present merchants with the opportunity to upsell additional products, with the added confidence that parts are covered under a single warranty.
The labour shortage isn’t only having an effect on construction site workers; it is also having a worrying impact on the logistics sector, with concerns that deliveries could be affected by a shortage of drivers. This means that, this year, carrying plenty of stock in branches and ensuring they forward plan purchasing and deliveries as much as possible, will be important for merchants and their supply chain.
Merchant offer 2019 Developing closer partnerships between merchants and manufacturers will be more important than ever this year. As well as providing quality reassurance and product innovation, our focus in 2019 continues to be on helping to make life easier for merchants and their customers. This includes producing free NBS and
fixing specifications for individual projects, right through to our sample service. Our technical team are also available on the phone to offer free help and assistance.
As well as providing traditional point of sale materials, we are increasingly helping merchants to grow their business with marketing support and demand generation. All merchants can also access My Account, which enables them to view their account with us including order status, live quotes and product lead times 24/7.
Furthermore, as part of our commitment to supporting merchants, we’ve also developed a number of training days specifically for our merchant customers, working alongside them to ensure they are confident in the products they recommend. These courses can be delivered at either our dedicated training centre at Burton-on-Trent or at merchants owns sites. While there are many
positive opportunities this year, merchants’ customer base of builders and sub-contractors is heavily dependent on consumer confidence surrounding Brexit – so we do need to be cautious about growth forecasts. However, as somebody with experience across manufacturing and distribution in the roofing product market, it is clear for me to see that there are clear opportunities for forward thinking merchants.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2019
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