Do the right thing
Bristol-based The Window Hub was launched in 2020, and has quickly built up a reputation for supporting local business and causes, while focusing on the needs of the customer. We talk to managing director, Danny Robb, to find out more.
The Window Hub was set up to put the customer first and ‘do the right thing’, according to owner and Managing director Danny Robb, which has resulted in a surprisingly successful business.
“We were set up as The Window Hub at the beginning of Covid, 2020, and our progress has been extraordinary, because we set out to do the right thing and put the customer first,” Danny says.
Touch and feel
For many businesses, setting up an online operation was vital to maintain that connection with the customers, with lockdowns keeping people apart, but Danny says he wasn’t prepared to throw the baby out with the bath water.
“Virtual selling is fine, as is getting a brochure sent through via email, but people actually want to touch and feel the products they are looking at,” he says. “We discovered that they couldn’t differentiate between good products and average products without touching and feeling them first.”
Danny said he wanted to create a business that was “built on quality rather than greed”, and in February 2022, the window company opened a showroom on the high street in Staple Hill in Bristol.
“This has been so successful that we have just opened a second showroom in Exeter,” Danny says.
The company is already on target to turn over £5m for this financial year – more than a 300% increase on 2022/23 – and 90% of reviews Hub on Trustpilot are for five stars. The Window Hub is also ranked 59 out of 6,300 on FENSA, putting it in the top 1% of FENSA-registered companies.
“We didn’t set out to be top 60 – we set out to just do a good job,” Danny says. “Sales begin and end with treating customers properly. Do all the right things, and the job is ours to lose.”
Buying local and having an eye on sustainability is also part of Danny’s aim to do the right things. The Window Hub buys most of its windows from Bristol-based Deceuninck fabricator MB Frames (with Deceuninck extruding just along the M4 in Calne, Wiltshire), its glass units from Bristol-based Ashton Glass, and its patio sliders from Patios Southwest in Newton Abbot.
“Sustainability is key, which is why we partner with Deceuninck,” Danny says. “Not only did they win Sustainability of the Year at the G-Awards last year, but they are local to us, as are MB Frames (Bristol) and Patios Southwest, and all companies recycle everything.”
New demands
Continuing this sustainability promise, The Window Hub is planting a tree for every customer (up to 3,000) at a nearby wildlife park (Boyd Valley Lake), moving its fleet of vehicles to a hybrid model by June 2024, then electric-only as leases come up for renewal from June 2025.
“If every SME makes a small difference, then you’re going to get a massive change across the whole industry,” Danny says.
While partnering with Deceuninck fabricators made sense from a ‘buying local’ point of view, Danny explains that these relationships are helped by the fact that he can meet the new demands from modern homeowners.
“When it comes to products, customers want to have choice,” Danny says. “So, having 30+ colour ways from Deceuninck is essential. We don’t want to race to the bottom on a square plastic frame, we want to give the customer a product that suits and complements their home.
“It’s really easy to be amazing if you just do the right thing. And if you do that then you you’ve got a successful business, right?”
