Posted On - 05/08/2020
Purplex CEO Andrew Scott discusses five key strategies that can help companies bounce back healthier and stronger from the lockdown. Recent history is littered with home improvement initiatives launched by successive governments: HIPs (Home Information Packs); the FIT (feed-in tariff for solar energy); and the Green Deal. All launched with fanfare, only to be quietly killed off and buried a...
Posted On - 04/08/2020
By Neil Cooper-Smith, senior analyst at Business Pilot. The Government unveiled its plans for the Green Homes Grant at the start of July. Not starting until September – and then likely to offer on slim pickings for window and door companies – many within the industry expressed their concern that it was going to dampen demand for windows and doors....
Posted On - 15/07/2020
With forecasts for the fenestration industry’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19 appearing positive, and with a little less than a year to go until FIT Show’s May 21 outing, event director Nickie West offers her thoughts on how she hopes things will shape up for its next installment. With just under a year to go until FIT Show 21,...
Posted On - 15/07/2020
The Business Micros Group is promising a software revolution for the PVCU window and door industry as it starts the roll out of its new Touch software platform to coincide with the easing of the lockdown. Managing director Graeme Bailey reveals all. With solutions for both fabricators and installers, the new Touch platform provides the industry’s first truly joined up...
Posted On - 15/07/2020
Andy Ball, MD at Balls2 Marketing, talks about how installers can use technology to sell jobs remotely. As the country comes out of lockdown and consumer confidence grows, there will be plenty of homeowners looking for installation companies to help them with their home improvements. Many will have been sat at home, frustrated with the lack of space in their...
Posted On - 15/07/2020
By Adrian Toon, director of a2n. These certainly are unprecedented times and as we try to come to terms with what business may be like in the future, companies in our industry are getting back to work to meet order books with safety at the forefront of production. There are also many companies that are still going above and beyond...
Posted On - 15/07/2020
As the industry gets back to work, the UK is left facing the turbulent aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the Glazerite UK Group, that has meant adapting the support it offers its installer partners in line with the new normal. Glazerite’s group marketing manager Michelle Wright explains. Following lockdown, we wanted to ensure our installer partners had access to...
Posted On - 15/07/2020
By Sioned Roberts, marketing director at Aluk. It’s very easy in any kind of downturn just to cut back on marketing and focus only on the bottom line. But experience tells us that those businesses that invest in marketing when times are tough emerge as winners in the long run. I’m not talking about advertising and promotion, although that is...
Posted On - 10/07/2020
Chair of Certass Jon Vanstone looks at the negative impact a poorly judged announcement can have on an industry recovering from lockdown. I write this just after the Green Homes Grant has been announced to help increase the energy efficiency of properties and, though in principle this is a very good news for the industry, the reality at present is...
Posted On - 09/07/2020
By Liniar’s Simone Sangha. Developing yourself for the future is definitely something most of us marketers wish we had more time to do. With marketing evolving so rapidly, it’s imperative to adapt to progress in this industry. I believe in times like these, it’s really important to remain positive and, most importantly, keep our minds stimulated. So, whether you’re currently...
Posted On - 09/07/2020
Neil Jones, head of the corporate and commercial team at Ansons Solicitors, advises business owners not to rush in to making big decisions. The Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown have had a serious impact on the UK economy, as businesses struggle to keep their doors open and continue trading. Unfortunately, some sectors have been hit harder than others, with owners...
Posted On - 07/07/2020
Neil Cooper-Smith, senior analyst at Business Pilot. The window and door industry is seeing a boom. Figures for June reinforce what any installer will tell you: retail demand has gone through the roof since the restrictions placed on working in people’s homes were lifted on May 11. The figures are startling: average leads were up 70% June on May, and...
Posted On - 07/07/2020
Sue Davenport, group marketing director at Liniar, explores the true meaning of marketing. At the time of writing, I’m sitting in my makeshift office (the dining room) where I’ve been based for the last few weeks, thanks to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. After closing our main facilities, we continued to work from home, focusing on internal communication and trying to...
Posted On - 07/07/2020
Purplex CEO Andrew Scott discusses recent industry events and explains why companies should choose their partners carefully. Recently, two of the industry’s biggest names – retail giant Everest and trade supplier Customade Group – both crashed into a pre-pack administration, sending shockwaves throughout the entire supply chain. Meanwhile, Synseal’s pre-pack administration and re-birth as Aperture Trading lasted barely 12 months...
Posted On - 10/06/2020
By Jon Vanstone, Certass. As chair of Certass, I make a plea to the other bodies in our industry to unite for the betterment of our sector as the pressures on the glazing industry will only increase over the next 12 months. Certass is representing in areas of government activity where our competitors are absent. Yet, rather than working with...
Posted On - 10/06/2020
By Neil Cooper-Smith, senior analyst at Business Pilot. There is little point trying to sugar-coat this month’s report; it is, however, probably what you expected to see if you’re an installer. According to figures for April average sales plummeted by almost 70% on March, and leads were down by around 60%; at a headline level it is clear that UK...
Posted On - 10/06/2020
Industry landscape could change forever as companies face a crisis on one hand, and booming order books on the other, according to industry advisor Andrew Scott. Business leaders are still reeling from the commercial effects of the coronavirus pandemic and, as the industry gets back to work, we are already counting the cost as several firms collapse or consider restructuring...
Posted On - 09/06/2020
Can technology be your saviour while negotiating the added obstacles brought about by the recent coronavirus pandemic. Matt Rhodes from Quiss Technology explores the options. The social distancing measures that have been implemented to slow the spread of coronavirus have forced businesses to send workers home, as employees are urged to work remotely for the foreseeable future. Although it isn’t...
Posted On - 04/06/2020
As we experience a fundamental societal change, The Window Company (Contracts)’s David Thornton argues that the 2021 FIT Show will be more important than ever in determining his company’s future trading partners “When I look at search engines online I always get sidetracked: and when I go to the FIT Show, the same happens,” David Thornton. from Chelmsford-based The Window...
Posted On - 04/06/2020
By Jon Vanstone, Certass. April saw the first meeting for how we review aspects of the competency requirements for installers across the home improvement market, with a particular focus on competent person schemes. Moving forward I will be talking to the schemes involved so that we can ensure a consistency of approach throughout our sector. To many this won’t be...
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