Has tool hire come full circle?
8 July 2020
During lockdown, people spent days on end in the same surroundings, venturing out just briefly for essential supplies or exercise.
But instead of staring with frustration at the same four walls and nondescript gardens, many decided to do something about it.
In a number of the blog posts on this site, hirers have reported good levels of business from homeowners needing equipment like mixers, compaction plates, breakers, turf cutters, aluminium towers, wallpaper strippers and carpet cleaners to tackle jobs themselves.
And the national and local media have been full of how-to guides with projects to undertake, from putting up shelves and clearing gutters, to building bird boxes and garden sheds.
Surge in demand
At the end of May, the discount retailer B&M reported a 23% surge in demand for gardening and home improvement items over the previous eight weeks. And in mid-June, Kingfisher plc (owner of B&Q and Screwfix) stated a like-for-like sales increase of 21.8% over the preceding three months.
Many people have obviously found a new interest in home and garden improvements, or rediscovered an enthusiasm for DIY. So could this lead to a longer-term hire trend?
It is a fair assumption that a significant proportion of these homeowners will become enthusiasts, pursuing a new interest or, simply, needing to save money. And they may go on to tackle more ambitious projects like patios, small extensions and garden landscaping, hiring the equipment they need. If so, hire will have come full circle.
Over the last fifteen years or so, there was a distinct shift from DIY to DIFM - Do It For Me. People knew what they wanted, perhaps having seen a TV home makeover show, but would rather have someone else do the work. Maybe there will be a change back.
The original hire company
Looking back briefly, the original hire company was founded on 12 March 1955, when the legendary John Rogers opened his small Hire Technicians shop in Wembley. He started by offering electric power tools that people could not afford to buy or only wanted to use for a short time, and he subsequently added more equipment that could be picked up and transported in a car boot or small van.
That concept was the foundation of tool hire and perhaps lockdown has reawakened the idea in many people. If so, the circle will have been completed, shifting the trend from DIFM back to DIY.
Of course, there are caveats, the most sobering of which is the steep rise in unemployment that is predicted by the end of the year which could affect demand. Also, those returning to work from furlough will have less time on their hands for DIY tasks, and many hirers report that a fair proportion of demand during lockdown came from self-employed builders and tradesmen who were doing jobs for themselves.
Fewer tradesmen in homes
However, one hirer I spoke to recently suggested that some homeowners will want to reduce the number of tradesmen in their properties for fear of catching the virus. They might tackle more jobs themselves by hiring the equipment they need.
A further positive point came from another independent hirer who estimated that a significant proportion of new business has come from cash customers, giving a healthy injection of ready funds at a time when predicting cash flow was difficult.
One thing that most certainly hasn’t changed is the need to observe Health & Safety requirements. According to reports, the rise in DIY during lockdown led to more eye injuries because people were not wearing the right protection. PPE is of course something that hirers can also offer, making the circle even more complete.
(Image from Altrad Belle)
