A riot of grey storms into 2019

For over two years grey profiles have been having a real moment in the windows industry; the colour has been steadily gaining popularity and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The popularity of the colour has even transcended into other industries with grey being voted as the most popular car colour choice in 2018. Jayne Lovett from Rehau fabricator Climatec Windows discusses colour trends and how the business is looking to address them in 2019.

Climatec has been manufacturing and supplying PVCU windows and doors for more than two decades now. During this time, we have established a wide network of customers from the northern tip of Norfolk down to the south coast of Hampshire, including London and the home counties.

The variance in customer location means we receive a multitude of coloured orders. However, in recent months – dating back to the Christmas holidays through to the start of this year – we have witnessed an overwhelming demand for anthracite grey, Rehau’s bestselling foil, rosewood and slate grey.

In fact, of the 13 different coloured orders in the first few weeks of this year, 76.5% of them have been for these colours – with 43% for anthracite grey, 21% for rosewood, and 12.5% for slate grey.

The preference for anthracite grey is a trend that has been steadily growing, and a look back at the statistics over the last three months in particular reflects this.

It is, therefore, quite evident that consumers today are increasingly opting for darker window frames as a clever way to put an individual spin on a classic scheme.

In fact, we have noticed the introduction of smoother foils like anthracite grey, slate grey and midnight black gives our trade customers the opportunity to offer PVCU products to new-builds and contemporary homes where the preference for grey frames have been cropping up more and more.

The industry is ever-changing, and it is very important that fabricators keep their finger on the pulse of the industry. At Climatec, we have a dedicated team monitoring changing trends, keeping an eye on market news and analysing exactly what the end-customer really wants.

We have a strong relationship with Rehau, which further allows us to keep on top of these trends and ensures we have enough stock supply to meet a customer’s specific manufacturing and delivery requirements.

Based on the number of enquiries we have received this year, I strongly believe that grey will continue to dominate but anthracite grey might begin to saturate in 2019 owing to its massive mass appeal. Instead we might see a rise in other shades of grey including pearl grey and elephant grey schemes.

In essence, the subtlety of greys – and the modernity associated with it – will continue to dominate the windows industry, and installers and fabricators should capitalise on this knowledge to ensure continued success in the year to come.

Meg Thomas, product assistant at Rehau added her thoughts on the colour trends for the year ahead.

“Our foil laminate sales figures are very similar to those experienced by Climatec,” she said. “It is no surprise that anthracite grey has surpassed rosewood as our number one selling foil over the past couple of months – a prediction we made at the start of 2018 itself.

“Today’s consumer is so much more aware of the different colour choices we have available, and often we get requests for more specific and customised orders, which we always do our best to deliver on and will continue to do so in the future.”

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