COMMENT
The circular economy?
I
t’s often said that economics generally runs on a 10 year cycle. Give or take. So, the fact that we now appear to be heading into a recession shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It could even be argued that, it being 2020 now and the last financial crash happened in 2008, that we are a wee bit overdue. Also, not that surprising when you think what has happened over the past few months. The lockdown has meant that commerce, more or less, just stopped. All that non-essential spending that is so essential for a healthy econmy just disappeared. The government has spent billions - for once, this isn’t hyperbole, it’s fact - of pounds of taxpayers’ money shoring up the economy during the months of lockdown. That money is will need to be paid back somehow. Remember ‘Austerity’? Well, it’s likely to be back for the next few years. Still, as off this month “non-essential” shops were allowed to welcome customers again, as long as they all observed the 2m social distancing rule, wore masks and didn’t touch anything that they weren’t going to purchase. You only had to look at the queues outside Nike Town to see that that social distancing had gone by the wayside.
It is also often the case that it can be harder to recover from a crisis than it can be to cope with it. A case in point is the other major thing that happened yesterday - the announcement by Travis Perkins of a restructuring which will see the likely loss of 2,500 jobs and 165 branches closed. Ouch. The last time I wrote a headline like that it was in 2009 when the industry shed tens of thousands of jobs in the wake of the financial crash. TP says it is taking these actions becasue it can see that we are heading into a recession, with considerably reduced demand for building materials. I’m not convinced that is totally the case, I think there will be demand, just muted and spread out over the longer term. That said, TP aren’t
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28 BMJ Industry Awards: Finalist list revealed.
28 BMF Industry Voice: News from the BMF
30 Product News: The latest product launches
34 And Finally: Out and about in the industry, plus the crossword.
June 2020
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 3
the only ones - Marshalls, Ibstock and Forterra have already announced consultation plans for significant proportions of their workforce - but they are the most high profile. The mainstream media doesn’t always pay attention to the merchanting sector. All too often when it does, it’s not for the best reasons.
The 165 branches are going to be concentrated in the general merchanting division, rather than the more specialist brands or the plumbing and heating division which, as far as I can tell, is still putting its best bib- and-tucker on to attract potential suitors. This sort of internal tidying up is common with large companies who take advantage of good times to expand and add branches, then, when things get sticky have to take stock and decide what they really need to preserve the business and keep the shareholders happy. It’s horrible for those having to go through it though. In the meantime, there are merchant businesses out there who have done all right thus far. There are a number of independents I’ve been talking to who, quietly, have been having some of their best months on record. These are the businesses that said from out start, what can we do to protect our staff and customers and the future of the business? They took advantage of the furlough opportunities where necessary but only in so far as it helped those staff who were unable to work. They took help from the banks where in order to help the cashflow and ensure suppliers are paid. They recognised the extra work and commitment from staff and rewarded accordingly. These are the businesses that will be able to take advantage of any opportunities that come along. This is a resilient sector, as it’s proved time and again.
Fiona Russell-Horne Editor-in-Chief - BMJ
“
What we call the begining is often the end;
And to make an end is to make a begining;
The end is where we start from.
TS Eliot CONTENTS
4 The Month: The latest from around the industry 6 News Extra:
How can we get the economy back to full strength? By investing in construction.
10 People: 10 minutes with and who’s moved where
12 Business Helpdesk: blah blah blah
14 Merchant Focus: How BPS has managed its business through the lockdown
16 Viewpoint: Do proposed changes to the Building Regs go far enough?
18 Timber: How green will your garden timber sales be this year? And what are the questions that merchants need to ask?
20 IT: The rapid implementation of online trading platforms has been a lifeline for merchants.
22 Insulation: Supplier partnerships and focusing on energy efficiency.
24 Transport & Handling: Safety first
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