INDUSTRY DOWN % IN – AMA RESEARCH IN BRIEF
NEWS
• Retail installation
business, Clearview Home
Improvements, has broken its
previous sales record,
reaching nearly £‡m of sales
in a single month for the fi rst
time in its Š-year history.
Part of the Conservatory
Outlet Group, the North-
West-based company saw its
sales total peak at just shy of
£‡m in June , %
greater than its previous best.
The record-breaking
achievement is said to be
largely attributed to the
company’s proactive
approach to sales and
marketing throughout
lockdown.
According to Clearview, it
realised the demand for its
products remained high
despite the restrictions, and
continued its proactive multichannel
marketing approach,
immediately setting up a
virtual sales appointment
service which was met with
high demand.
Clearview Home
Improvements claims it was
able to generate enquiries in
excess of —˜% higher than its
year-on-year totals, with its
‘Stay-at-Home Sale’
campaign delivering a ‘readymade’
order book for its
return once the restrictions
were lifted.
• Deceuninck has reported a
‘spectacular’ post-lockdown
recovery, with June sales up
Š˜% year-on-year and ahead
of the budget. The
systems company says
demand is particularly strong
for fl ush windows and doors,
and for colour.
Deceuninck managing
director, Rob McGlennon,
said: “Our sales in June
increased Š˜% year-on-year,
well ahead of our pre-Covid
budget, which is quite simply,
spectacular!
“By last month
Deceuninck fabricators had
all returned to work and
they’ve reported very strong
demand across the board.”
www.ggpmag.com | July
Revised forecasts from AMA Research
suggest Covid-
and lockdown will
deliver a % drop in the value of the UK
window and door market this year.
AMA, however, said that although
this would lead to short-term challenges
and some consolidation, prospects
for the medium and longer term were
positive, with the worst now behind it and
moderate but sustained growth forecast
through to .
The authors of the revised edition
of the Door and Window Fabricators
Market Report UK - said:
“As with many other construction
products manufacturers and suppliers,
the restrictions imposed in an attempt to
contain the spread of the virus have led to
major disruptions to many businesses.”
They add, however, that with recovery
forecast from Q this year, ‘growth is
forecast in all sectors with a gradual build
up over the subsequent four-year period
to when some sectors will have fully
recovered.’
While AMA forecasts a ‘V’ shaped
recovery, it warns that many of the
underlying issues which impacted the
industry pre-lockdown, remain. This
includes signifi cant over-capacity,
particularly in PVC-U extrusion and
fabrication.
It also adds that recovery will be
faster in some areas of the industry than
others, with signifi cantly differing fortunes
for residential, housebuilding and
commercial sectors.
Jane Tarver, senior research Analyst
AMA Research, said: “There is a lot that
still hangs in the balance. A second wave
or localised lockdowns still have the
potential to exert a major impact on the
industry’s fortunes.
“With April and May now behind us
and the relaxation of lockdown controls
in the middle of this month (June), we
now appear to be entering a period of
recovery.
“While we remain cautious, and while
further industry consolidation should be
expected, we can be optimistic about the
medium and longer term, through to the
end of the forecast period in .”
AMA highlights the highly competitive
nature of the residential window market
in particular suggesting that the fortunes
of those who operate within it, will again
vary according to product offer and
material type.
“Ultimately, the industry is mature and,
in the longer term, heavily dependent on
replacement demand in the residential
sector,” Jane added. “That in return is
reliant on consumer confi dence.
“Covid-19 has come with signifi cant
economic cost. The continuing challenge
for companies – and the longer term
one – is to adapt to the trends which were
defi ning the window and door industry
pre-lockdown.”
Jane Tarver
RETAIL DEMAND ‘FAR EXCEEDING’ EXPECTATIONS
Hampshire home improvement specialist,
KJM Group, has said it has seen four
times the normal level of homeowner
enquiry since returning to work in May.
The retail business, which operates
throughout Hampshire, Wiltshire,
Berkshire and Surrey, said enduser
demand had far exceeded its
expectations with composite doors,
windows and glazed extensions seeing
particularly high levels of demand.
Mark Pearce, managing director, said:
“We came back because we were seeing
very high levels of enquiry. It was sink or
swim and we thought it was probably
better to swim!
“I had, however, been anxious about
coming back, particularly regarding how
we were going to work safely in people’s
homes. Government and industry bodies
weren’t clear, and at the time I couldn’t
see the way forward. Emplas was key in
helping us get back.”
Among a vanguard of companies
to have returned to work on April,
Emplas shared its learning points along
the way – and made the systems it put in
place to support this process available to
customers.
This included those developed for
its own retail business, T&K Home
Improvements, which continued to trade
throughout lockdown. This involved
a Guide to Retail Lead Generation in
the COVID Era and Safe Systems of
Operation for Retail, in addition to a
guide to working in people’s homes.
“We adapted the Emplas Safe Systems
of Operation to our own business. It’s
been really important in helping us to get
back – we’ve even won business on the
back of it,” Mark said.
“I needed to feel confi dent that we
could go back and work in people’s
homes safely. That’s just as much about
protecting our team as it is customers.
“The support we received from Emplas
personally gave me that confi dence that
we could, but has also been instrumental
in helping us to trade by offering
reassurance to our customers.”
This has included putting in place
changed working patterns to run fi xedpartner
installation teams; introducing
Mark Pearce
new handwashing and sanitisation
procedures, tool control and wearing
visors or masks.
KJM Group says it has also put a
customer communication strategy and
risk assessment in place so that it has a
report on the household before attending
site. This includes requirements for social
distancing and instructions to leave
internal doors open. Fitting teams also
regularly wipe down all surfaces with
disinfectant as they work and before
leaving the home.
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