Renegade Conservatory Guy

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately…

And the question that is occupying my mind at the moment is…. would a ‘How to run a Double Glazing Company’ website be useful?

I’m quite sure that I’m the only person in the world currently thinking of this, which could mean that there is no need for such a website.  If this is the case please try talk me out of it!

My thought process is thus:

It can be very lonely running a conservatory or double glazing business, especially for sole traders.  In my capacity as the MD of a national conservatory manufacturer, I regularly spend my time talking to and advising customers on how to run their businesses.  But I share bits of information with one business owner, and then not necessarily the same with the next business owner.

So, what I’m thinking is that I create a membership website for owners of double glazing companies (and their staff) and share all the knowledge I have gained over the years about how to build a succesful installation or manufacturing business.  The knowledge I could share would be:

• How to purchase products at the right prices (eg sealed units, silicone, conservatory roofs, advertising etc).
• How to price up conservatories and double glazing correctly to ensure profitability.
• How to advertise effectively using mediums such as TV, radio, internet, newspapers and so on.
• Reviews and podcasts about software products such as Window Designer, Vector or Adminbase.
• How to motivate sales teams, and how to improve conversion rates.
• How to manage installations effectively.
• The list goes on and on….

Crucially, I would make the site a ‘community resource’ so that there would be a discussion forum for members to talk to each other and share ideas.  And, the software would allow members to communicate with each other privately - imagine a Facebook for double glaziers!!

I would use Membergate to build the site as it is designed for exactly this type of website, and I am already familiar with the basics of how to use it, as we have built our ConservatoryTV.com website using Membergate.

We’re in a period of turbulence for business owners and their staff in the double glazing industry, and my thoughts are that if people work together to encourage best practices then individual businesses will prosper, and the industry as a whole.

However, my concern is that it may never take off for two main reasons:

• Most people in this industry are too apathetic and suspicious to get involved.
• Most business owners in this sector never go online anyway.

If you have a view on this, please let me know by posting a comment.

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The latest Plimsoll report is available and the press release reads as follows: 

Early Warning Signs for the UK Windows & Doors Market

At a time when even the most ambivalent are starting accept that a recession will hit the UK economy in 2008. A new study by industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing has looked at how the UK slow down is already impacting on Windows & Doors market.

The analysis, to be published on the 1st of May, has drawn on the very latest figures for each of the UK’s Top 1000 companies in the windows & doors market. The headline findings offer stark reading.

• Over a third of companies are already showing signs of recessionary behaviour, reporting declining sales. This is immediate evidence that the market is slowing down.
• Over half of companies have seen their margins fall. Of most concern, a third of these are currently running at a loss. The pressure on sales has forced an immediate squeeze on profitability. These companies are struggling against rising costs and declining sales.
• Over a quarter have seen an increase in their need for short term finance, a sign that costs are running ahead of cash flow. This is doubly dangerous at a time when Banks and financiers are looking hard at their loan books and therefore places these companies in an even more vulnerable position. 

As a result, as many as 1 in 6 Windows & Doors companies could disappear completely if this trend continues or deepens.

Explaining these results, David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll, reports:

“We are reading every day how the credit market and the world of finance is been hit, but nonetheless I was still surprised to see just how much the Windows & Doors Market is feeling the pressure.  I hope this report is recognised as an early warning sign and managers read this and use the findings to steer a course though these tricky times.”

The analysis, is not entirely without some good news, some evidence that certain areas, particularly the small companies, with their concentration on local and domestic markets are less exposed to the slow down in the market.

I’ve got two main thoughts on this:

• Firstly, I think Plimsoll are around 6 months late with this analysis.
• Secondly, how are these statistics ‘early warning signs’.  Surely, we’re already deep within a window and door industry recession.

With bad news in the media every day about a housing price slump, credit crisis, and housebuilders struggling, then I’m afraid the sentiment of Plimsoll’s findings are correct. 

We’re all going to have to tighten our belts over the coming months.

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I’ve been keeping my eye on the Abbott Group Employee Helpline blog over the last few days, and it doesn’t look good!

Abbott Group Employee Helpline blog

If you read the posts, you will really feel for the employees of the Abbott Group as they have been kept in the dark, since the company ceased trading with the collapse of parent company Plastmo.

From what I can understand, Style Group (Safestyle UK etc) quickly purchased the remnants of Plastmo in order to maintain supply of product (under the guise of a company called Sprint 1234).

It seems like a tangled web, but from reading the posts that the employees of the Abbott Group it is clear that they have been left dangling without pay and information for far too long!  The hope was that the Style Group was likely to sell the company to Tamar Group, but this deal seems to have collapsed today, and it looks like the company has gone into liquidation.

According to the website:

If the company does go into liquidation, the Tamar Group have expressed an interest in buying everything up & starting again. But there will be no continuation of employment, no obligation for past wages & everyone will need to reapply for a job.

If you haven’t already started looking for another job, now is definitely a good time.

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At the moment, I seem to be hearing that virtually every profile company, glass company, window company, door company, or hardware company is struggling, and about to shut down.

Is this true?

Of course not - it’s bo**ocks!

So, please let me know about the companies you know that are doing very well.

Please submit your answers in the comments section.

1 Comment »

Double Glazing industry picks up

The word on the street is that sales are up!

It was a very poor start to the year for many fabricators and installers, mainly due to pretty poor sales in November and December. There were obviously a lot of casualties with Zenith / Staybright, Shepley Window Systems, Budget Windows, Pennine Windows, and My Planet just a handful of those going bust!

Our conservatory manufacturing business was well down in January compared to the year before, but February was pretty good, and March is looking excellent at the moment. In fact our Q3 results will be far better in 2008, than the equivalent in 2007.

Our conservatory installation company also had a very average January, but February has been one of the best months on record, mainly due to an effective TV campaign we have been running. March is also already looking excellent with customers keen to visit the showroom and place orders.

A number of our trade conservatory companies are also getting busier after the slow start. I’m not sure what has changed - whether it’s better weather, lower interest rates, or just that we’re excellent at selling conservatories and double glazing.

So forget everything I said in January!

What recession???

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How to run a double glazing company

It can be a lonely position running any company, and running a conservatory / double glazing company is no different for most owners.

I’m lucky that I run my conservatory business with my brother and we can bounce ideas off each other. If we make a mistake it’s a joint mistake, and it’s not as big a deal.

As part of my role, I’m sometimes called upon to talk to the owners of other conservatory companies, and help with business advice when things aren’t going quite right.

Today, I’ve spent much of the day with one of my customers (who will remain anonymous) trying to solve possibly the biggest problem:

A lack of sales!

Background on the company - well they’ve recently invested in a great conservatory showroom, and invested a lot of their personal savings in the project. They have the best conservatory showroom in their area. All installations are project managed throughout by the owners to a meticulous standard. The quality of their conservatories, windows and doors are top notch - they have to be - they buy them from me!

So, why are they struggling to bring in the sales?

I appreciate it’s a tough market, but it’s all too easy to blame the economy, the weather, the Government etc. They’re struggling to bring in the sales because they haven’t got things quite right. My advice to them, and other conservatory and double glazing companies is as follows:

There’s clearly lots more to it than the above list, but it’s a start.

The most important thing is to not give up, believe in yourselves and your products and service, and the sales will come!

3 Comments »

Window Industry in recession - will the interest rate cut make a difference?

It’s clear to me that even though the economy as a whole may not be quite in recession, our particular part of the economy is clearly in recession. According to the BBC website:

A technical definition of a recession is two successive quarters when the economy shrinks.

Well, the window industry has had 2-3 successive years of shrinking, and the outlook is for further shrinking over the coming years.

The latest quarter point cut in interest rates will help, but I feel it won’t make enough of a difference to our industry.

The latest AMA report into the replacement window and door market confirms the problem:

The UK market for replacement domestic doors and windows is facing major challenges in 2008. The market is large, but mature, and volumes are declining. As companies compete for business in a strongly price oriented market, major problems have resulted in substantial restructuring in 2007, as the market adjusts and consolidates.

The following table highlights the problem:

AMA predict things are unlikely to change in the short term:

The overall prospects for the replacement doors and windows market for 2008 remain downbeat, with a forecast decline of around 3%, reflecting a combination of market saturation, continued pressure on prices throughout the supply chain and the impact of the current credit crunch. In addition, the economy is set to slow down in 2008-09 and falling house prices are also likely to slow the market. In the medium term, some recovery may be achieved and the sector will offer growth prospects in some niche applications.

Individual companies can buck the trend by differentiating themselves from the rest, and offering either different products or a unique type of service. But for those wishing to manufacture and install ‘bog standard’ shiny white plastic windows things don’t look good. Conservatories have plugged the gap over the last 5 or 6 years, but even demand for conservatories in the UK is falling.

We need to work together to stimulate demand for our products. I feel that we need to create an organisation which has the primary goal of advertising and marketing the main selling points of our products:

Instead of Synseal, Pilkingtons and Joe Bloggs Window Company all sending different advertising messages to the consumer, why don’t we all consider putting money towards a central body which promotes the industry as a whole to the end user.

I predict that a £10m TV advertising campaign selling the benefits of replacement windows and doors to the consumer would have a dramatic effect on the graph above.

There are lots of problems we face as an industry, but I believe the main problem is simple - a lack of demand for what we are selling.

The problem is getting people who compete with each other to work together…

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Is the double glazing industry in the proverbial?

January 2008 has clearly been the worst for many years. A rep from one of the main hardware suppliers told me yesterday that their sales for January are as bad as January 1983.

Having spoken with major suppliers such as Avocet and Synseal there is clearly a much lower volume of products being manufactured than this time last year. My feeling is that the industry is 30% down!

With the news so many companies have gone bust recently, house prices falling and talk of recession in the general global economy, then it’s not looking good. And today, I’ve heard many rumours about one of the big super-fabricators going into administration - Shepley Window Systems! Now, I don’t know this for sure at this stage, but the signs aren’t good.

Despite all the doom and gloom, I’ve spoken with a number of installation companies over the last few days and it seems the volume of customers walking into showrooms and picking the phone up is looking surprisingly good.

So, is it time to pack in and get a proper job in a different industry?

Of course not! It’s still a great business to be in and for those that can ride the storm there’ll be plenty work left for those left standing.

Besides, what else would we do?

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