Unlocking the residential entrance door market
Entrance doors remain a big seller, but the market is crowded so how do you make sure that you and not your competitors close out on the deal?
“The challenge is in differentiation,” says Richard Hammond, sales director, Universal Trade Frames.
“There’s market demand but persuading homeowners to select your product over that of a competitor without sacrificing margin in a highly competitive sector, is increasingly difficult.
“That’s what our offer does. It delivers that differentiation, and while including the complete Solidor range, it has our own spin on it, which gives our customers a distinct set of USPs.”
Manufacturing on average 25-30 doorsets a week, Universal Trade Frames is said to be the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of the Solidor composite door range, fabricating and supplying more Solidor composite doors than anyone else in the UK, with the exception of Solidor itself.
“It’s been a very important product for us and consistent with our strategy to focus on products which maximise opportunities for sales and margin for our customers,” continues Richard.
“USPs for most composite doors are comparatively thin on the ground – each system delivers high levels of performance –- it’s fabrication where USPs are added to door sets in the hardware and glazing options that are applied to slabs and prepped leafs.”
Differentiation is clearly the critical factor in retail, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Universal Trade Frames. Having first started manufacture of Solidor composite doors way back in the 1990s its offer has been carefully refined.
“We want to give our customers something different but also bring more flexibility to our service offer to give them the confidence that they can accommodate any job,” Richard continues.
This means that Universal Trade Frames offers the complete Solidor slab range including Traditional Collection, Italia Collection, matching side panels and stable and even panic bar exit door options.
In addition to carrying the complete Solidor glass range, it also offers customised glass designs. This is something that Richard highlights as important in creating USPs for its customers.
“Solidor has a great glass range, but we wanted to bring additional flexibility to our offer, so we have added a number of different options to the table including customised options,” Richard adds.
Doorsets are manufactured by Universal in Spectus’ dedicated door outer frame available in both ovolo and chamfered options. This gives Universal the flexibility to match the doorset to the windows in the rest of the house, something not normally possible with bought in Solidor doors
“We’re not unique in offering Solidor. We have, however, worked very hard to add-value to it through the combination of glass, hardware and furniture that we offer with it and our wider service offer,” says Richard. “Colour is also a big part of that proposition.”
As a specialist manufacturer, Universal Trade Frames has also applied focus to security, offering the complete Solidor hardware range plus handles and door furniture from Fab & Fix. This includes handles, hinges, letterboxes and knockers each fully suited including a heritage range of handles in finishes including antique black and pewter.
“You can’t overplay the importance of security going forward in the door market as a whole and particularly in the composite door market,” continues Richard. “We also try to bring flexibility to our offer. If a customer has a special request for a particular design or technical specification, we’ll do our very best to source it.
“For example, we recently completed a door with a black pull bar for a coastal location, something which other Solidor customers can’t always do.
“Composite doors are a critical part of the product mix, enjoy end user appeal and are forecast to continue to grow,” he concludes. “The challenge is that while the market is there, it’s being flooded with products.
“We believe we have an offer which supports installers in accessing opportunities but which also gives them the USPs to sell effectively against competitors.”
