We've Sold 250% More Composite Doors This Year

For the sake of clarity, this isn’t a paid-for post. Merely the reporting of figures from our family run installations business. So why am I bothering? Well, with a 250% rise in the sales of composite doors compared to the same period last year, I believe that the uplift in sales we have seen in that particular product is a sign that the potential growth in the wider composite door market is even bigger than we might have thought.

Very strong door season

In our local area we have developed a reputation for being door specialists. Unlike our competition, who seem to prefer to rush in and rush out with a sale as quickly as possible, we will spend the time with the home owner fine tuning their door to what they want, rather than telling them what they should have.

I also want to point out that we sell more than one door type. Solidor as you probably already know supply our composite doors. We don’t dual-source them. We also sell the PVC engineered door fabricated by John Fredericks. Both are very high quality doors, with unlimited choice. Furthermore we don’t lean towards one door type or another. If a customer comes in to the showroom we demonstrate both, and then leave it to the home owner to decide. Totally up to them.

So that fact that we take this neutral stance, and we still grew our composite door sales by 250% is impressive to say the least. In fact, it has been a very strong door season for us this year. As I said above, we have grown a reputation for our doors, which I think has had something to do with it. But I also think there is an unleashing of potential on the door front right now. And we’re seeing it play out in the composite door market.

Immediate curb appeal

I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but this time of year we always see a big rise in the number of doors being sold. The period between the start of September and the end of November is known as silly season. The few weeks where home owners rush to get their last home improvement works bought and installed before Christmas.

One of the most popular products in this mad dash to the end of the year is residential doors. And the answer is simple Most doors are on a short lead time. And the ocean of choice available to home owners mean they can get a brand new, individual door, designed, priced, surveyed and installed within a month. It’s that instant boost in curb appeal that they can show off to friends, family and potential new buyers of their home if they’re looking to sell it. Of course as we head into the final few weeks of the year, door sales will continue to be strong as home owners rush to get their new door before Christmas.

The composite door market, or rather the more organised and forward thinking composite door companies, have done very well to establish their product in the entrance door market in the last decade. If you were to ask a home owner now what kind of door they would go for if they were in the market for a new one, they are likely to say a composite door. That’s good work.

That home owner recognition of the composite door product has been one of the keys to unlocking the potential in the UK entrance door market. There are many millions of doors ripe for replacing. A full house of windows is a fair old investment. A new front door though is a bit more affordable. That makes the entrance door market one of the most lucrative and attractive parts of the market to attack. And it’s the composite door that stands to benefit the most from the potential new business. A menu of colours, door designs, glass options, and lead times less than ten days, home owners will continue to flock to this product in the years to come.

At our place we have seen a huge 250% jump in sales of Solidor composite doors. As we head into 2017, we’ll be looking to increase lead levels and sales. Another 250% year on year jump might be a tad unrealistic. But that’s why we set targets!