UK’s largest building trade website launched by fast-growing disruptor

Fast-growing British builders’ merchant, cmogroup.com, has unveiled a new online portal www.cmotrade.co.uk that it believes offers the widest online range of building materials to construction firms in the UK, with delivery direct to building sites across the country.

In 2018, £38.6m revenue cmogroup.com, previously known as Construction Materials Online (CMO), launched doorsuperstore.co.uk alongside its existing drainagesuperstore.co.uk, insulationsuperstore.co.uk, and roofingsuperstore.co.uk websites. This was followed by tileandfloorsuperstore.co.uk in August 2019.

The latest website brings together all 75,000 products from 350 suppliers provided by these different specialist websites operated by cmogroup.com. It aims to bring to the trade builder the experience of a consumer online retailer and offers trade credit and bulk discounts.

“We’re disrupting a market that historically had seen few of the benefits that technology and e-commerce can bring, and to offer the largest range of building products available anywhere online is a great way to launch the new site,” said CEO Andy Dunkley.

“Every independent builder, whether you are two men and a van, or a multi-million turnover operation with multiple sites, wants to save time and keep projects on or ahead of schedule and budget, and we have been working to build a business that makes that easier.”

cmogroup.com started by offering value for money and fast delivery to DIY customers and has expanded in recent years to also cater for the needs of professional contractors and builders. The business now offers trade credit and exclusive discounts, driving new accounts and sales from larger building firms and taking on traditional builders’ merchants.

Over the last 10 years, the Plymouth-based online disruptor has seen huge growth, tripling its revenue in just three years as it has added more specialist websites to its portfolio and expanded its warehousing and logistics capabilities following private equity investment by Key Capital Partners (KCP) which specialises in scaling online businesses.

The business aims to take market share from traditional builders’ merchants that have made relatively little investment in their online presence and service models, and the company has made significant progress towards this goal since the investment in 2017.

“Sometimes disruption is the best thing for a market, and certainly it’s almost always of benefit for the customer. The Amazon and Wayfair models are hard to exactly replicate for the UK construction market, but some of the elements are deliverable, and we’re investing in providing traditional customer service as well as the latest technology to ensure we attract people who like to talk to someone on the phone or need advice,” explains Andy Dunkley.

“We’re here to save customers time and hassle by providing systems and tools to help them keep track of their projects and meet deadlines. That is done by delivering what they need for a job, reliably to where they need it, exactly when they need it. Had the building industry as a whole taken advantage of the potential benefits technology can offer, cmogroup.com wouldn’t have enjoyed the growth we have demonstrated,” he added.

Further new services and an expanded product range are expected later in 2019.