The past few years have seen some of the most rapid development in window and door products than the industry has seen in decades. The industry certainly does not look like it did even five years ago, never mind 15 or 20. We have certainly learned that the best future for the window and door sector lies with better products.
Two way split
When you think about the premium end of the market, you would naturally think of timber alternative PVCu from Evolution and Residence 9, vertical sliders from Roseview, bi-folding doors from Origin. Then there’s the new stuff like Rustique 3 from John Fredericks, Warmcore hybrid aluminium bi-folds from Synseal and the newly announced Raum range from Dekko.
All of these products come with a price tag at the end of the market you would expect. But as they say, you get what you pay for, and for those selling these products, it is easy to see why these products are better than the stuff languishing at the budget end.
So whilst we are all very happy to proudly talk about the awesome products many of us sell and install, there are still those that want to sell doors for £495. And whilst I know that will irritate many of us, the fact of the matter is that those doors will cater to a certain market. One which this premium end will rarely get a chance to influence.
The way I see it, the industry is splitting very clearly into two very distinct camps and very quickly going their own ways.
High-end vs “value”
Profit is key to any business, and many understand that to achieve the big margins many want, the high-end route is the way to go.
Well made, premium products are far easier to command bigger prices and healthier margins. It’s not about creaming as much as physically possible, but charging the right amount for the work and the product. It’s why aluminium bi-folds of average size can quite easily be sold for anything north of £5-£6k or more depending on the size. Within that there will be significant material and installation costs, but also a healthy margin.
Take on the other hand a PVCu panel door sold by a company based at the lower end of the market for £500. Take your VAT off that, take off fitting costs, take off any commission earned, take off material costs. Not going to be left with much of that £500. Certainly very little profit.
Companies at that lower end have to rely on volume to make the profit they need. Selling lots for very little, instead of selling less for much more. For me it does seem a harder way to do business. Still, if people out there are willing to buy these sorts of doors, then companies will continue to exist to sell them. I don’t think they’re the types of doors likely to be uploaded to the NFA Cool Wall though.
Churn
The value end is also more likely to see companies come and go. With little profit being made per item, it wouldn’t take much of a problem month with non-paying customers or larger than expected bills to put pressure on cash flows.
You don’t really see companies at the higher end of the market going bust on a regular basis. I see that as a sign. The better the quality of product, the better the margins, the better the reputation of the company, the more likely they are to see out the rougher economic ties than the “stack em high, sell em cheap” side of the market.
Maybe I’ve got this wrong though. Maybe companies selling doors for a few hundred quid do make good profit margins. I’d love to know for sure. If there are any companies out there reading this and do indeed sell their doors for such a low sum, I would welcome your comments, anonymous if you wish, to put me wrong on this.
Yet, the market will continue to separate down it’s two different routes. There seems to be very little middle ground left. I think I’ll be sticking with the premium end of the market myself.
