As some of you may remember, I am the MD of a Plumbers Merchant in the south of England, and like many other people I was very nervous about the impact of the recession in our industry.
It is now clear that the Construction/Property sector is having a very tough time, with major merchants and housbuilders laying off thousands of people. I am sure, though, that the contractors and merchants who have traditionally been involved in site work are the ones suffering most badly.
In our recent 'State of the Trade' survey, confidence was reasonably high.
When asked whether they felt the credit crunch would affect their business, half the respondents expected a small negative impact. Only 7% expected a major negative effect, and 43% anticipate either no change, or a small positive effect.
It's a very different picture from what the national media are reporting. We just hope that our customers are right, and the doom-mongers in Fleet Street are wrong.
