We now have our full complement of staff and most of the time customers are not kept waiting for long before being served – except for occasional busy times that seem to happen for no rhyme nor reason.

The shortages have settled down. Our softwood PAR timbers are readily available in good quality and quantity. There has been a fall in demand for plywoods because of the steep price rises (2440x1220x18mm thick birch ply up from £40 to £120 a sheet since last year for example.

The above has led to what I call “pre-pandemic stock levels at post-pandemic prices” – i.e. overstocking – just at the moment.

Our regular stocking of oak and other hardwoods from Europe are easily available and although prices have risen, they remain affordable. Most other hardwoods from Africa, Indonesia and South America are available too – although Accoya is still difficult to get in any quantity.

Surprisingly – decorators’ caulk. We waited ages for a delivery, then three boxes turned up. I think it has something to do with shortages of certain chemicals used, so products are made in rotation and then you get what you get.

Titebond glue – very popular with the chippies was also hard to get for a while, but that seems to have ironed itself out and we have good enough stock levels to meet demand.

Prices for key items in our stock, in general, seem to have plateaued at the moment. There are fewer increases feeding through. Some anomalies though – our hardwood plywoods are cheaper than softwood ply for example. I wonder how long that will last – but you have to bear in mind that most of our best quality softwood comes from Russian-influenced parts of the world.

Like most shops we adopted Perspex screens during the pandemic but during the summer heatwave we found that the loss of airflow was making staff very hot, despite the big doors being open. Since removing the screens both staff and customers have commented on the change, with customers saying that at least they can hear clearly now. The sense of ‘normality returned’ is quite popular it seems.

Another change is the ban on customers going into the timber stacks. Before the pandemic, this had created a few Health and Safety issues, because of the presence of the forklift and the circular saws. Now staff do the timber selection (customers can still exercise quality control on what they want) without having to supervise any ‘visitors’.

‘Hipster fencing’, that fencing with parallel horizontal slats.

Also, with the price of birch plywood as it is, softer grades like poplar or beech-faced ply are the ready replacement because they look fairly similar, even though they are softer and not as strong as birch.

It is quite variable. Some customers seem to be very busy and come in regularly to source timber, glues, screws and finishes for current jobs. Others report that the number of quotes they have to do before landing a job is going from every couple to six or seven. I reckon some people still have discretionary spending and, of course, there are still some wealthy people around here.

I reckon the next six months will be difficult as people get to grips with the cost of living crisis, winter fuel bills and restrictions on spending. I guess that only necessary jobs will be done – repairing a roof or fence needs to be done, but that new kitchen might have to wait.

For us here, it means we have to work harder and smarter to keep hold of customers. For example, we have only minimally increased our delivery costs. Excellent customer services have always been important, but we will have to go the extra mile to find the best prices for items like doors for example, that can be very expensive. We need to find the best deals.

Agreed.

You can share your views, on or off the record, by getting in touch here...