Disruptive forces

Disruptive forces are dominating the market, according to Insight Data.

At the recent Glazing Summit, Jade Greenhow, operations director at Insight Data, discussed the rise in ‘builder installers’, a new category of home improvement provider. Referencing the latest Insight Report into the glazing industry, Jade revealed there are now almost 16,000 builder installers active in the market offering windows, doors and conservatories at a local level.

This figure is nearly double the number of traditional double glazing firms buying in from fabricators.

Jade also revealed that the number of trade counters have grown by 150%, which is claimed to be linked to the increased number of builders operating in the sector. A spate of mergers and acquisitions has created a number of trade counter networks and has taken the overall figure to almost 900 nationwide.

“The meteoric growth of trade counters has allowed local builders to expand their revenue streams by exploring a wider portfolio of products including windows, doors and conservatory packages,” Jade said. “Not only does this mean that local builders can actively compete with established installers and double-glazing firms, it means fabricators need to attract and communicate with a very different kind of customer base.

“Through our market intelligence for the glazing industry we have been watching this trend very closely and have developed a Local Builders database. This combines real-time business information and contact details for over 26,000 general builders, contractors and small building firms and creates the most comprehensive data resource of its kind.”

The resource, along with Insight Data’s four other key databases is accessed through Salestracker, the firm’s online prospect database, CRM system and email marketing platform.