On The Road With Benjamin Moore in the UK

U.S.-based paintmaker Benjamin Moore has been active in the UK with a presence in a small number of independent outlets in recent years, but since 2021 has slowly been increasing its prominence through supplying the much larger independent retailer, Brewers. In May it announced a nationwide promotional tour of the UK that targeted professional painters with early-morning challenges, demonstrations and giveaways as ways of introducing their products directly to professional painters and decorators.

Painters and decorators were invited to the roadshow to try out a range of exceptional quality products, test new Benjamin Moore paints and chat with the company’s team about how Benjamin Moore could help their business grow.

Helen Shaw, Marketing Director at Benjamin Moore said, “We know how important it is to work with products you can trust to perform on every job, that’s why we’re dedicated to helping the nation’s decorators put better quality paint on the walls. We want people to come along and try our innovative products to see for themselves why Benjamin Moore paint is the go-to paint for so many professional painters across the UK and have a bit of fun along the way.”

Coatings World’s European correspondent Terry Knowles caught up with Benjamin Moore on their UK roadshow at their stop in the currently-modernising city of Wolverhampton to ask Ben Adams, their UK National Sales Manager, about their tour and their views on the UK decorative paint sector.

CW: Tell me about your roadshow and what you have been doing with it.
BM: The tour started in Edinburgh on 15th May and runs for twenty-four dates and venues until 16th June. We have invited painters (through social media and in-store flyers etc) to attend our venues and we are hosting the events in a special exhibition vehicle that we are parking at each roadshow location.

CW: What kind of reception have you had on your roadshow so far?
BM: The reception has been really positive. Professional painters tend to be really interested to learn more about the brand and our products, whether they are regular users or completely new to the brand.

CW: Are you drawing attention to any particular Benjamin Moore products on your roadshow? If you are, what are they and what is their selling point?
BM: Yes, there are two products that we’re currently highlighting.  The first is Ben Matt, a class 1 durable matt emulsion for walls which is a paint and primer in one, with an attractive 3% sheen level and effortless application. The second is Elementguard, a new 100% acrylic masonry paint in a matt finish that can be applied at temperatures down to 1ºC. It resists rain in 60 minutes.

CW: What is the nature of the relationship or agreement between Benjamin Moore and Brewers?
BM: Brewers started stocking the Benjamin Moore brand in their Southampton branch in autumn 2021 and have been rolling out the brand across the UK ever since.

CW: How do you plan to differentiate your offerings from those of your competitors?
BM: Benjamin Moore is renowned for the quality of its products and its extensive range of beautiful colours. These benefits also set the brand apart in the UK markets.

CW: Are you targeting professional painters or DIY-ers, or both?
BM: Both.

CW: What do you think is the current split between the professional and DIY sector in % terms in the UK?
BM: It’s 50% professional and 50% DIY.

CW: How has the UK paint sector recovered from the early and artificial boost that was brought to the decorating cycle during the lockdown period?
BM: The consumer market saw large declines from the high of 2020-1 but has now stabilised; the trade sector has remained fairly flat.

CW: In the UK, the decorative paint sector has been a highly consolidated one for a long time. How confident is Benjamin Moore in making further ingress into what has largely been a three-horse race?
BM: There are many, many small players in the UK beside the big three, lots of niche/consumer offerings and a very large number of international players have a presence in the UK. Professionals these days buy from wide range of brands and tend to have go-to products for each task, but not necessarily from the same brand.

CW: What trends are you aware of in the UK decorative sector at the moment?
BM: Increasingly there are changes in preparation and application methods, particularly with the adoption of spray and dustless sanding. Also, there is the ongoing decline of solvent-based products as the benefits of water-based products continue to surpass those of solvent-based products.

CW: Do you think there will be plans in the future for Benjamin Moore to work with other major UK retailers?
BM: Benjamin Moore remains aligned to supplying through independent channels only.

CW: The UK has long been at the forefront of innovation in the paint and coatings sector and the current focus is on sustainability. How do your products measure up in terms of their sustainability and eco-credentials?
BM: Benjamin Moore has a wide range of environmental action programmes spanning conservation, waste management, energy management and sustainable transportation alongside products which exceed the most stringent environmental standards, all with the goal of lowering the impact of our operations on the planet.