NEWS
THE BP BAROMETER – RETAIL SALES SKYROCKET IN BRIEF
July www.ggpmag.com
• Mackenzie Glass has said
that its supply partnerships
remain ‘robust’ with high
stock levels across its
complete range, despite
growing industry concerns
about glass shortages.
While float-glass
manufacturers kept their lines
running during lockdown
many were reportedly putting
products back into cullet,
impacting on quality and
availability.
This, according to analysts,
has combined with the
significant jump in demand
for glass seen since the easing
of lockdown following rapid
growth in retail and the return
of demand from commercial
projects, to put ‘significant
pressure’ on the glass supply
chain.
Mark Herbert, jointmanaging
director, Mackenzie
Glass, said: “There are some
real positives here, and that is
the high level of demand our
customers are seeing across all
sectors of construction.
“That, in conjunction with
the lower outputs from float
glass manufacturers in March
and April, is how-ever creating
a logjam, and demand is
currently outstripping supply,
which will put pressure on
some product lines over the
summer.
“Our partnership with
Pilkington and as its first
Regional Partner, to a degree
insulates us from that squeeze
on supply and we have full
availability across our product
range.”
The Business Pilot Barometer offers
a monthly analysis of the key trends
defining window and door retail.
It draws on industry data collated
by Business Pilot, the cloud-based
business management tool developed
by installers for installers. To find out
more visit: www.businesspilot.co.uk/
barometer
Headline analysis by Neil Cooper-
Smith, senior analyst, Business Pilot:
The window and door industry is seeing
a boom. Figures for June reinforce what
any installer will tell you – retail demand
has gone through the roof since the
restrictions placed on working in
people’s homes were lifted on May.
The figures are startling. Average
leads were up –—% June on May –
and a staggering š›œ% on April.
Sales were up š6% on May and
almost ›6—% on April. This can be
attributed to a number of factors. As we
have said before, the furlough scheme
has guaranteed household incomes,
while with little else to do, holidays
refunded, and spending time in their
properties, consumers have focussed
on home improvements.
There has also been a release of
latent demand, with leads and jobs
carried forward from earlier in the year.
This growth and demand will not be
sustainable. It wouldn’t be even during
times of economic boom. The question
is will demand ‘settle’ to sustainable
levels or growth or will it slip back into
contraction?
The answer will be dependent on
multiple factors. Boris Johnson may be
‘fit as a butcher’s dog’, but the economy
is clearly not. Analysts agree that his
recent announcements on planning
and housing reform, formed little more
than a repackaging of measures already
announced.
At around £†bn, it also represents
a drop in the ocean compared to the
€ˆ‰bn pledged by, for example, the
German government to its COVID-“
recovery.
At the time of writing, it is expected
that the chancellor, Rishni Sunak,
will commit to further fiscal stimulus
package this month July – but with
growing job losses and the end of
furlough looming on the horizon, more
will need to be done if the UK is to
avoid a downturn in the autumn.
The impact of this on the window
and door industry specifically will
ultimately be dependent on consumer
confidence.
At the end of June, the media made
much of the stagnation of the housing
market, with property values down ‰.%
year on year – the first-time price growth
has been in negative territory since
œ‰œ. No one, however, is predicting a
crash and what is clear from our own
statistics is that consumers continue to
invest in home improvements.
As a final takeaway from this month’s
barometer figures, average order values
dropped by around ˆ‰% from £Ÿ,œ“‰
to £ˆ,‰¡¡ May to June. However, we
need to apply a level of analysis. The
industry has seen vastly more sales
this month than last, something which
by definition will push down average
prices.
This aside we commented last
month on a shift to single purchases,
particularly bi-folding, inline sliding and
composite doors, which the figures
suggest continued into June.
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