Growth, demand and support
Haydon Statham, national sales manager at Vista, discusses the current state of the door market, increasing demand for contemporary door styles, and the important role installer support plays in the success of XtremeDoor.
In just a matter of years, composite doors have transformed the door market, replacing PVCU panels as the undisputed market leader thanks to more choice, better performance and higher margins for the installer.
The uptake of composite doors has become so immense that PVCU panels have gone from a high-commodity product to a niche one – with some installers and manufacturers not even offering it at all.
At Vista, it’s something we are seeing with our own eyes. As a manufacturer of both panels and composite doors, we have seen demand for XtremeDoor – our best-in-class composite door, skyrocket. Whether it’s for renovation jobs or social housing, student accommodation or even new-build projects, we manufacture well in excess of 800 composite doors every week, and that number doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
While outstanding thermal performance and security are important factors behind that success, it’s the sheer choice of premium design options that make composite doors so popular with consumers. Typically, we extend the XtremeDoor design suite every 12 months with new door styles, colours and even hardware and glazing options so consumers can essentially design their own bespoke front door.
Consumers don’t want to be one of the herd with their matching white plastic front doors. Instead, they want something unique that stands out on their street and matches the character of their home – creating a valuable opportunity for those installers who can offer the greatest choice.
Our range covers everything from traditional and heritage shades right through to bolder, more modern colours. It’s the same with our door styles which span both heritage and ultra-modern designs.
It’s all part of a consumer-led movement in the glazing industry towards the premium end of the home improvement market. The average buyer of home improvements is now no longer focused solely on price, and places greater emphasis on quality and performance – in many cases seeing the purchase as an investment on their long-term home.
So, it comes as no great surprise to us that our more contemporary styles are proving the most popular. Leading the charge is our on-trend Verona, complete with linear etched detailing, long handles, a ‘heritage’ lock and finished in anthracite grey. Either as a complement to increasingly popular aluminium windows and sliding doors or as a standalone – XtremeDoor delivers the high-end aesthetics that consumers are looking to achieve.
One of the greatest attributes of XtremeDoor in particular is that it’s a product that consumers really connect with and installers love to sell. In addition to regularly investing in the development of the door itself and introducing new design options, we have also bolstered our XtremeDoor support package.
The most popular feature among both installers and consumers is the improved online door builder. It’s proving to be a fantastic way to not only introduce homeowners to the XtremeDoor brand, but for generating leads for our customers both through our consumer-facing XtremeDoor website and as an add-on to their own websites.
Add to this our no-nonsense, high-impact sales brochure and Xtremedoor.co.uk, and we have a complete support package designed to empower our customers and help them win new business.
Surpassing 800 doors every week not only shows our customers are more than capable of selling XtremeDoor, but the high regard our composite doors are held in. While we can’t talk for other manufacturers, we see our success and the continued growth of the market as a result of providing a high-performance product that effectively meets the changing demands of the market and that installers are proud to champion.