Screwfix have manged to buck the 2020 lockdown trend by posting over £2 bln in annual sales, opening 30 stores and creating over 500 new jobs. Screwfix is a great example of a trade counter investment.
A trade counter is a location where companies can sell goods at a reduced price, to registered tradesmen and businesses. These are usually attached to workshops or warehouses, enabling diversification of a rented space to be commercial as well as industrial. Since the rent and other overheads of an industrial unit are much less than a traditional shop, it presents a good way to sell goods without having to invest in a more formal brick and mortar premises.
Trade counters such as Screwfix market their products through hard copy catalogues or online, trades people already know what they want to purchase when they come in or have already ordered on line and are just picking up. Think of it as an Argos for tradespeople.
Different types of Trade Counter units are usually grouped together as a single industrial site. Building materials, plumbing, sound, electrical, bathroom supplies, wall tiles which makes it easier for builders to buy everything they need from a specialist all in the same place and all at the same time.
With people spending more time in their houses over lockdown, they are looking at refurbishing and updating, all good for Trade Counters and Trade Counter investments.
Image Giles Rocholl Photography Ltd 2018
