Why Execution Matters More Than Ever as Builders’ Merchants Take on Big Retailers

There is a growing sense across the sector that builders’ merchants are no longer just competing with other builders’ merchants.

They are also competing with larger, retail-led operators that have built serious trade propositions of their own. From where I sit, that is becoming a much bigger part of the market, and it is happening at a time when conditions already feel tough.

That is really what makes this worth talking about – this is not just about retailers moving into trade. It is also about changing customer expectations, operational execution, and what builders’ merchants need to get right if they want to stay competitive in a slower market.

This is becoming a much bigger part of the market

The scale of it is worth paying attention to.

Kingfisher reported £1.5 billion in trade customer sales excluding Screwfix in FY24/25. Trade sales reached 15.0% of group sales excluding Screwfix, rising to 17.9% in January 2025. TradePoint also had 1.5 million active members and trade counters in around 200 stores.

Wickes also reported strong TradePro growth, with sales up 10% and active members up 14% to 615,000 in 2025.

That tells us something pretty clearly. Traditionally consumer-focused retailers are no longer just serving trade alongside their main retail offer. They are building serious, scaled trade propositions that are relevant to the same customers many builders’ merchants rely on.

The wider backdrop matters

At the same time, this is all happening in a market that already feels under pressure.

Travis Perkins said 2024 revenue fell 4.7%, driven by weaker volumes, price deflation and underperformance in merchanting. Grafton reported revenue up 10.4% to £2.52 billion and adjusted operating profit up 7.1% to £190 million, but like-for-like growth was still only 1.7%.

To me, that says the same thing a lot of people in the market are already feeling: demand is still subdued, and strong performance is often coming more from discipline and execution than from a buoyant market. That matters for builders’ merchants because in these conditions, inefficiencies show up much faster. When the market is flat or under pressure, businesses feel friction more.

The bigger issue is not just share loss

I would say the real pressure on builders’ merchants is not simply that larger retailers are taking share in a direct, obvious way. A lot of it is that they are changing expectations.

If trade customers can get a smoother journey, better search, clearer availability, stronger product information and a quicker route to purchase, they respond to that. Over time, that starts to influence where spend goes and what they expect from everyone else. That is where the challenge becomes bigger than price alone.

Builders’ merchants still have real strengths. Relationships matter. Service matters. Product expertise matters. In many cases, those things are still the reason customers stay loyal. But where larger operators are gaining ground is in reducing friction. And once customers get used to a certain level of convenience, they start to expect it everywhere.

Why larger retailers are succeeding in trade

It is easy to reduce this to pricing, but I do not think that fully explains what is going on. Price is part of it, of course. But what larger operators seem to be doing well is executing at scale.

They are often better set up to deliver a more standardised experience across branches, digital channels and trade services. They are strong on brand awareness. They make products easier to find. They make the journey easier to navigate. And they are often better placed to support that with more consistent product information behind the scenes.

That all adds up. The result is that customers can self-serve more easily, get confidence in what they are buying, and move faster. In this kind of market, that matters. For builders’ merchants, that is really the point to focus on. The challenge is not just competing with bigger retailers on price. It is competing with the overall experience they are delivering.

Execution is becoming the real differentiator

One of the things that stands out to me is that the better performers are generally winning on availability, speed and consistency.

They make it easier for customers to find, trust and buy what they need.

That sounds straightforward, but in building materials it is rarely that simple in practice. Products are technically complex. There are multiple assets, lots of attributes, and often different channel requirements as well. If the operational foundations are not in place, that shows up quickly.

This is where execution becomes a real differentiator for builders’ merchants.

In stronger markets, businesses can sometimes carry inefficiencies more easily. In flatter or declining markets, those inefficiencies become much more visible. Slow onboarding, weak search, inconsistent product information and manual internal processes all become more costly.

Why product data matters more than people think

This is where product data becomes more important than people sometimes assume.

In building materials, product information is rarely straightforward. You are dealing with technical attributes, dimensions, compliance information, sustainability detail, application guidance, substitutions, related products and supporting documents. It is not just a title, an image and a price.

And when that data is incomplete, inconsistent or hard to manage, it slows everything down.

It slows onboarding. It slows launch timelines. It creates manual work. It affects search and discoverability. It creates inconsistency across channels. It can also reduce customer confidence.

That is why I would see product data as one of the practical levers builders’ merchants can pull in the current market. It is not the only one, but it is a foundational one.

If the data is cleaner, more complete and easier to distribute, businesses can move faster and execute better.

Supplier onboarding is still a major challenge

One of the biggest themes that comes up in my conversations with builders’ merchants is supplier onboarding.

Whether I am speaking to general builders’ merchants or specialist merchants, supplier data is almost always one of the highest-ranking challenges. The reality is that when you are taking in feeds from hundreds of manufacturers, all using different formats and standards, it creates a major operational burden.

A lot of businesses are still relying on manual rework to get that data ready for their own sales channels. That takes time away from more valuable activity and slows time to market.

Meanwhile, larger operators often have the scale to dictate standards more clearly and create more consistency on their side.

That does give them an advantage.

But it does not mean builders’ merchants cannot respond. In many cases, the opportunity is to take greater control of their own data standards rather than relying too heavily on whatever suppliers happen to provide.

Where builders’ merchants can respond

I do not think the answer for builders’ merchants is to try to beat larger retail-led operators at their own game on price alone.

The better route is to compete on experience and expertise.

That means combining the strengths builders’ merchants already have, such as service, relationships and trade knowledge, with a clearer and more consistent product experience.

In practice, that could mean making complex product information easier to understand, helping customers choose the right product first time, reducing friction across branch, telesales and ecommerce, and speeding up supplier onboarding so products get to market faster.

All of that makes the business easier to buy from.

And that is where builders’ merchants can create a real advantage.

It starts with the foundations

If I were reducing this to one core point, it would be this: in the current market, execution matters more than aspiration.

That feels like one of the clearest messages coming through from the market right now.

The businesses that are performing best are not necessarily the ones making the most noise. They are the ones getting the foundations right. They are reducing friction, improving consistency, and making it easier for customers and suppliers to do business with them.

For builders’ merchants, product data will not solve everything on its own.

But if it is fragmented and inconsistent, everything else becomes harder. Customer experience suffers. Digital performance suffers. Internal efficiency suffers. Even branch teams are affected if they cannot easily access accurate product information when they need it.

So while product data may not always be the most visible lever, it is increasingly one of the most important.

Final thought

Large retail-led trade propositions should be taken seriously.

Not because they mean the builders’ merchant model no longer works, but because they are raising the bar on convenience, consistency and customer experience.

That is the real challenge for builders’ merchants.

And for the businesses that respond well, it is also the opportunity.