Safety Equipment and Supplies Distributors in Australia - Industry Market Research Report

Risky business: Easing pandemic restrictions have softened demand from some downstream markets

The Safety Equipment and Supplies Distributors industry has faced mixed conditions over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven uncertainty in key downstream sectors, most particularly a slowdown in the Construction division. Construction workers are a key downstream market for safety gear distributors. A fall in the overall amount of construction activity means that there are less workers who need to purchase safety gear. On the other hand, the pandemic produced a spike in other segments of the market, partially offsetting the slowdown in construction. Government health and safety regulations mandated safety equipment on a range of workplaces, supporting consistent industry demand. Certain industries, like health and education, saw a sharp uptick in demand in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall industry revenue is expected to fall at an annualised 2.2% over the five years through 2023-24, to $1.9 billion. This includes an expected decline of 1.7% in 2023-24, as many construction firms feel the pinch from a surge in interest rates.

The industry distributes a variety of generic safety equipment and supplies to businesses and consumers. These pipelines include the distribution of specialised safety materials for medical, construction and agricultural industries. Industry items tend to be purchased in bulk for hospitals, worksites and factories.

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares.