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E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON
S P R I NG 2 01 5
A word from the CEO
This issue of NECA News focuses on
the results of the 2015 Market Monitor –
our industry’s biennial market research,
completed in July. This was the first time we
had run the entire survey online and this led
to a doubling of respondents over the last
study. We also had more sponsors than
ever before and we thank them for making
this study possible. I will leave you to draw
your own conclusions and I thank those of
you who participated in the study.
I am also very pleased to be able to
confirm dates for our industry conference
in South Africa next year. The conference
kicks off on Sunday 17 April with an
informal braai (a local barbeque) and
concludes on the Wednesday night with an
open-air gala dinner. We have chosen to
run the conference at a boutique winery
in Stellenbosch – about 45 minutes
from Cape Town.
The Market Monitor results are a great
starting point for the conference content,
and there will be a mix of presentations,
panel discussions and workshops over
the three days of the conference. We
also have an exciting range of afternoon
excursions – as well as pre- and post-
conference options, to complete the
African experience. See the NECA website
for more details.
This is one conference no one should
miss!
I hope you enjoy this NECA supplement.
Best regards
Suresh Manickam
Market Monitor 2015: The results are in
The 2015 Market Monitor survey opened in mid-
February to all states and closed on 24 April.
Due to the length of the survey, we gave the
respondents the ability to progress through
the survey without completing every question.
This meant that if they found a question wasn’t
applicable, or just too difficult for them to
answer, they wouldn’t be forced to drop out of
the survey.
Overall we received a total of 1,532
responses.
In statistical analysis, a recommended
cell size is 150-200 people to give robust
analysis at the 95% confidence interval and
we achieved these numbers for all our key
questions.
So what does this tell us?
s
First and foremost, 1,532 is a huge sample
for total population analysis!
s
When we analyse results by state, we can
be very confident in our NSW, Victorian,
QLD and WA numbers, as each of those
has a cell size of over 200.
s
We will also be able to split our results by
over 35s versus under 35s, as both these
cell sizes were over 200.
s
However, if we want to do analysis by state
by age (e.g. under 35s in NSW), we need to
do some ‘grouping’.
Our sponsors
We would like to thank our 2015 Market
Monitor sponsors: Philips, NHP, Clipsal by
Schneider Electric, 3M, Rexel, CNW, L&H,
MM Electrical, HPM Legrand, Gerard Lighting
and Hager.
Snapshot: Key industry insights
s
Competition is on the rise as is anxiety about
future work.
s
Young people, however, feel confident and
feel in control.
s
Digital is of growing importance – ordering
and content on product info.
s
Lower prices are out there – but there are
other ways to differentiate.
Some context: Source of business
s
Electrical contracting businesses tend to
operate across a variety of industries.
s
On average, businesses have gained work
from three different industries in the past year.
s
However, the drift towards commercial
work has continued, with most businesses
(85%) sourcing at least some work from
commercial projects.
s
A greater proportion of businesses (26%)
sourced their primary revenue from
commercial projects, than from residential
(23%).
s
There are some differences by states, as
would be expected.
s
There is a skew in new residential towards
younger respondents.
s
Maintenance forms the backbone of work
conducted, with a greater proportion of
businesses having this as their primary work
versus 2013. The increase in new premises
work in 2015 has drifted back to 2011 levels.
Cost pressures
s
Cost pressures appear to have eased
compared to 2013, with over half claiming
costs have stayed the same or improved.