COLOUR
www.ggpmag.com July
critical importance in retail. In short, if as an
industry we want people to part with their cash
(and we do), we need to persuade them that
colour is key.
So, in this sense, perhaps colour is in fact
priceless in driving a market that would otherwise
be far smaller?
We added the Optima flush casement to
our range in 8. It features a defining flush
casement finish, traditional top and deep bottom
sash rail options and heritage dummy sash on
frames with fixed lights. It’s also available with
integrated hardware including monkey-tail
handles and dummy peg stays.
We’ve also recently added a mechanical
jointed option to our range, recreating the
traditional „0 butt joint that defines many
period windows.
And it sells, with a growing reach and market
penetration, but part of that goes hand in hand
with colour choice. To put that into context
colour accounts almost half our sales, across
home improvement and newbuild. Flush
casements account for less than ‰% of the total.
We only expect sales of foils to accelerate
going forward – in part because of our new
colour offer. Something which we’ll come back
to.
How much are homeowners prepared to pay
for colour? This is the key question. The headline
figures suggest that homeowners are paying
more for colour – installed values are up, far
outstripping volume but what does that add to
each sale?
Research on this is thin on the ground but
what there is, is interesting. Colour plays a
big part in homeowner purchasing decisions
and what they’re prepared to pay for. Take the
following from a US based online estate agency.
The analysis of ”, listings found that
properties painted predominantly in neutral
colours – ‘greige’ a shade somewhere between
light grey and beige – added $”,‰ dollars to
the sale price over similar properties.
The research even drilled down to be room
specific. For example, kitchens painted in shades
of blue, including light blue through to soft greyblue,
sold for almost $”, more than those
painted in yellow, which sold for $8 less than
the average.
Properties with grey windows and exteriors
sold for $,‰ dollars more and compared to
properties with windows and doors in brown for
example rosewoods, which sold for $, less.
Fair enough, this isn’t a scientific study (and
it’s not in the UK) but a test pool of more than
”, properties is a fairly substantial one and
what is clear is that homeowners are prepared to
pay more for colour – specifically the right ones.
These are increasingly more subtle finishes
including of course, the eternally popular
anthracite grey.
A NEW COLOUR OFFER
We have now relaunched our own colour
offer, adding ” new foil options on our colour
pathways, which means that we now have ”
different options available on rapid lead times.
This includes new Pebble Grey; Buckingham
Grey, Silver D Smooth; Sage Smooth; Hazy
Grey Finesse; Claystone; Basalt Grey Smooth;
Flemish Gold Smooth; Windsor; Black Ulti-Matt;
Kensington Grey; Honey Oak Super-Matt; and
Pyrite.
The new offer also features three of the new
colour options – Pebble Grey; Sage Smooth; and
Claystone – from stock.
This new colour offer gives installers the
opportunity to offer end-users the choice of an
extensive range of colour but also finish options,
including smooth and ultra-matt finishes.
The new flexibility we can offer on lead times
is key. It’s clear from what we’re seeing in our own
retail business, T&K Home Improvements, that
homeowners may want colour but are less willing
to accept longer delays for it.
This is an important point. There are a number
of different influences on the price-point paid
by the end-user for colour, quicker turnaround
times can support you in commanding a higher
price. That’s what Emplas’ new colour offer
has been designed to deliver – finishes that are
delivering growth and rapid delivery from point
of order.
Get this combination right and we see through
our own direct retail experience and that of our
customers, that foils are adding upwards of ”%
on a non-foiled product.
In short, the money is there but speed of
turnaround, particularly in the coming months
is critical.
“we see through our own direct retail experience and that
of our customers, that foils are adding upwards of % on a
non-foiled product. In short, the money is there but speed of
turnaround, particularly in the coming months, is critical”
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