Some structural paint was sold through DIY wholesalers who were already Homecolour customers, but
this was much the smaller part of the market. The market was worth around £15 million, as much of the demand for structural paint was met by paints that were available from the consumer sector. Price competition was in consequence, extremely severe - the average price was below that obtainable in the consumer sector, and there was substantial import substitution. Homecolour estimated that the company would be able to enter the market but that the potential margins per litre for the basic products were unlikely to be better than 10-15 %.