CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
B&Q’s
MARKETING ACTIVITIES
Introduction
In 2008, the worldwide home improvement market was valued at $569.7 billion (Datamonitor, 2009c, p3) or £351.05 billion using current exchange rates - $1 = £0.6162 (Google, 2009). As categorised by Datamonitor, (2009c, p7) a business information company specialising in industry analysis, the home improvement market segments consist of decorative materials, non-decorative materials, electrical hardware, hardware, and tools; all of which are marketed by B&Q (Datamonitor, 2009a, p4). Appendix 1 provides a more detailed description of the home improvement market.
Industry Trend
By 2013, the market value is projected to increase to $637.5 billion (Datamonitor, 2009c, p3) or £392.83 billion (Google, 2009). Although the US accounts for $218.3 billion of the worldwide home improvement market (Datamonitor, 2009e, p3), the UK holds a respectable market share accounting for $16.6 billion in 2008 (Datamonitor, 2009d, p3). Despite the growth in the worldwide home improvement market, the UK market is projected to shrink to $14.3 billion, a 13.8% reduction by 2013 (Datamonitor, 2009d, p3). This is not a new trend as the market has been shrinking since 2004 when the UK home improvement market value was $17.9 billion (Datamonitor, 2009d, p8).
In 2008, decorative materials accounted for 25.8 percent ($4.27 billion) of the UK market’s revenues (Datamonitor, 2009d, p8). On the other hand, non-decorative material sales generated 41.2 percent ($6.82 billion) of total revenue (Datamonitor, 2009d, p8).
The DIY retailing industry operates in a mature market that has saturated the UK with growth based on stealing competitor business. Competition remains fierce especially amongst the top four – B&Q, Homebase, Wickes, and Focus (Mintel, 2008, NP).
B&Q Home Improvement
Richard Block and David Quayle opened their first store in Southampton in 1969 (B&Q History in Brief. ND, NP). Forty Years later,...