Small firms tended to buy product from the 120 industrial wholesalers in the country that stocked this type of paint. But the larger firms all bought direct from the manufacturers, who were mainly small regional companies. Price sensitivity was significantly lower than the consumer market, and margins in consequence higher. Estimates of the Homecolour production department suggested that 55 % margins could be achieved when the company sold direct to the end users though using wholesalers would mean that margins would drop towards 40 %.