Having come under fire from independent retailers and wholesalers in the industry, paint brand Dulux is defending its latest move to sell paint and brushes direct to consumers online, stating that the findings will benefit its retail customers.
The news that Dulux would start selling to consumers via its website www.dulux.co.uk was announced to retailers at parent firm Akzo Nobel's recent conference and a basket function now appears on the Dulux homepage, informing consumers there is an option to buy direct.

While the retail and wholesale operators DIY Week spoke to were seriously concerned about the impact the move would have on their business, feeling that Dulux had set itself up in direct competition with them in the marketplace, the paint brand reassured DIY Week that that is not the case.

Dulux sales director, lifestyle, Andy Shambrook said the brand simply wants to perfect selling paint online, from the way the product is presented online, through to efficient home delivery, and then share these best practices with its retail customers, enabling them to build an effective online proposition of their own. "We know that the decorative category is way behind the rest of the retail market in terms of online penetration," he said. "We feel that this represents an opportunity to stimulate category growth, following a number of years of decline and stagnation due to the financial crisis. As market leaders we feel that it is our responsibility to lead this growth and develop the category."

He added that Dulux has no intention of becoming a retailer and that, "you have to go looking on the website to find exactly where we are selling the paint. We are not actively promoting it. Our website is there to offer consumers inspiration and advice on colour. That is its main function. Yes we do get more traffic to our site than our competitors do to theirs but, really, when you look at the level of traffic that retailers, such as Homebase, get to their sites, ours is negligible. We will not be investing in making the 'to buy function' any more visible. We are not trying to become a retailer."

However, Dulux's retail customers are concerned about the price points the products are being sold at, believing that they have been misled over Dulux's intentions and that the comapny's activities will inevtiably have an impact on their business.
The plan to sell online was initially mooted to a handful of wholesale and retail businesses before the announcement was officially made, reportedly with assurances that Dulux would be retailing the paint at an inflated price and that 'no one would buy it' - removing the the threat to its retail customers. The high retail price and resulting low level of orders could potentially allow Dulux to perfect the back-room logistics without the pressure of a high volume demand - something the brand suggests would be of value to its retail customers.

However, retailers and wholesalers are now concerned that the paint brand has commenced selling at a more competitive price point than originally anticipated, with some items price matching or even undercutting several retailers.

Currently a 2.5 litre tin of Dulux's Kitchen + matt paint in brilliant white can be purchased from dulux.co.uk for £18.99, with £4.99 delivery.
Meanwhile, Maxwells DIY retails the same tin of paint at £25.99 with the cost of delivery starting at £4.99 depending on the number of tins ordered. From Taskers, the same paint can be bought online for £23.99, with a delivery charge of £6.95.

A number of independent retailers are, naturally, disgruntled about the news and fear, despite Dulux continuing to list stockists on its website, that consumers will bypass their businesses altogether, opting to buy direct in future.

Dulux explained that the products are simply being sold at their suggested retail price and that it "has to act in a competitive way".

Several retailers have expressed anger and confusion at the news and dealer-owned buying group Home Hardware Southwest has raised its concerns with Akzo Nobel directly. DIY buyer Paul Andrews told DIY Week: "It is a bad move. It's not something we would want them to grow in any sort of way that would affect our retailers. These are the guys that are supporting them."

He added: "We can understand why some retailers would look at what we're doing from the outside and be concerned but decorative needs to grow online and it is our role to do that. We have the ability to invest in these solutions."

Read more in the latest issue of DIY Week.