As reports in the media are now focussing on whether the UK is coming out of recession, I decided to put a bit of research into companies I feel are in a better position than most to succeed when the market picks up.
So, I’ve created a list of 10 companies I feel are bucking the trend:
Recession Buster #1 – High Tech Windows
I visited High-Tech Windows in Cheltenham last year and was extremely impressed by the professionalism and dedication of the two owners, John Green and Eric Cheshire.
They have developed a policy of the ‘aggregation of marginal gains’ after John read about the success the British Olympic Cycling Team’s highly effective use of this strategy in the preparation for the Beijing Olympics.
Since the start of the recession all staff at High-Tech have tried to embrace this message. As a result they are all working harder than the competition, smarter than the competition and are all selling up to quality and not down to a price.
There is also special emphasis on the word ALL…..they have spent a lot of time explaining that everyone who works at High-Tech is a salesperson and that their next sale could come as a direct result of something they did.
A cleverly crafted questionnaire is now completed by all customers after the installation and their installers and service engineers are now generating 10-15 additional leads per week. They have also recently aimed a Spring Promotion at over 30,000 existing customers which has generated nearly £1m of additional sales.
As a result of aggregating all of the ‘marginal gains’ at the end of June Week 1, they have achieved 101.4% of their year to date target.
Recession Buster #2 – Everseal Ltd (and ConservatoryLand.com)
I hate to say this, but Dave Bingham the boss of Everseal Ltd is probably the most clued up person in our industry for generating leads from the internet (since Barry Dunlop went on to better things). The reason I say this is the impressive way he has managed to maintain his website www.conservatoryland.com firmly in the top position of Google for at least two years for the terms ‘conservatory’ and ‘conservatories’. This is despite intense competition from companies like the nationals, and dare I say it Conservatory Outlet. As a result, they have been selling loads of DIY conservatories throughout the UK, despite the downturn.
They are 9% up on last years’ sales figures up to the end of April 2009 compared with the same period in 2008, and 15% up on turnover due to ‘dragging off’ their order book and about 5% up on actual pre-tax profit in that same period. They have added new sales and technical order processors for handling the increasing internet enquiries and sales orders. They have also invested heavily in an extended conservatory, window and door showroom, new machinery, new vehicles, and computer equipment, which is a sure sign of the company’s overall business confidence.
Recession Buster #3 – Central CRC
Central CRC is a trade manufacturer managed by Gary Richards and Martyn Elwell, with an investment and interest from well known industry figure Gary Morton.
As the recession began to take hold they concentrated on getting the basics right – on time and complete products, while continually striving to exceed customers’ expectations. They felt that this would put the company in a reasonably healthy position to face the inevitable downturn in business.
There wasn’t a ‘downturn’ though, as sales increased. From September ‘08 to April ‘09 they’re 10% up on year to date targeted sales. Remarkably, net profits are up 170% on the prior year and this has been achieved in a number of ways.
They’ve invested in marketing initiatives such as supplying free “Leads 2 trade” enquiries to their installers. They’ve developed new products, such a bi folding doors, and invested in a new CNC corner cleaner.
They’ve undertaken strategic “cost out” exercises with the main outcome being the decision to stop manufacturing conservatory roofs. They now buy in kits and sales volumes of roofs have held up.
All efforts have been made to improve their efficiencies and maximise sales from each customer by providing added value products, such as glass and associated products. They’ve developed a good mix of customers ranging from the “one man and his van” to multiple team installers. They have found that most new customers are mostly interested in a good price and are not too concerned with being wrapped up with a marketing package.
The introduction of Business Micros Evolution has improved efficiency at the company with its CRM capabilities and clever in house communication features, and the team feel they are now in a position to increase capacity by approximately 35% (or about 150 units) by the end of the year. In Martin’s words ‘after this we’ll need a bigger boat!’
4. Hazlemere Windows
I met Tony Beale, Sales Director of Hazlemere, at the GlassTalk event, and was immediately impressed by his switched on attitude to business.
Hazlemere have a strong understanding of internet marketing, and their website is bringing in good levels of enquiries for aluminium conservatories and windows. By concentrating on aluminium they have seen growth in both commercial and residential markets, winning many awards along the way.
They’ve recently launched woodgrain aluminium windows and doors as an addition to their product range. Sales in May 2009 were nearly double the figure of May 2008, following on from the best January to March sales for 6 years. As well as the website, they are finding they are having great success with inviting homeowners to bring their sizes down to their showroom, which is open 7 days per week.
5. Lister Trade Frames
I’ve long been an admirer of Lister Trade Frames, and how the company goes about its business.
Prior to the recession Listers had enjoyed prolonged growth with 27 consecutive months of record sales. Like many companies in our industry the growth period came to an abrupt end in the second half of 2008.
So, the company restructured and took a lot of cost out of the business. In Mark’s own words:
beggaring the question “why didn’t we do this when times were good!?”
With improved margins, the company has enjoyed strong sales in the first quarter of 2009, mainly due to investing in marketing support for their installer base, including complete re-branding exercises, new websites, van livery etc. Mark believes that homeowners still have money to spend on home improvements and are not always looking for the cheapest products. He sums up the Lister Trade Frames policy as:
Support your customers, keep a tight grip on your finances, reinvest the money you make back into making your company even better and make your own future!
This reinvestment includes a £250,000 refurbishment of their Building Plastics Trade Counter, and the guys have started work on a new showroom for their customers to use.
6. Quickslide
Quickslide are proving that a ‘recession’ can be turned into an opportunity, with some thought and application.
When the ‘credit crunch’ began to bite a couple of years ago Quickslide took the decision to specialise in the manufacture of uPVC sash windows and leave the selling to the experts.
In 2006 their field sales costs were over £250k and were winning and losing business and customers on a regular basis. They took the decision to cut all their sales costs and only partner professional sales operations, the result is that they have been able to split this £250k with their customers and invest some back into product development.
Adrian Barraclough explains “because we’re a private company we have few overheads and don’t need to return excessive dividends for shareholders, we can simply trade with sensible margins and encourage the leading sales outfits to use us through the competitiveness of our price and quality of our product and service”
Turnover has remained stable, but profit has increased year on year, and by dealing with established and proven companies their bad debt levels are lower.
The recession has helped them to negotiate more favourable prices from suppliers, allowing them to invest in new machinery, software and product development.
In summary Quickslide have used the recession as an opportunity to tidy up their operation, save money and pass it on.
7. Masterframe
Another manufacturer of uPVC sash windows I feel is beating the recession is Masterframe. Alan Burgess has a different philosophy to Quickslide which is equally successful.
If you look at the Masterframe home page you will see what they’re all about:
Let us start by stating, we are all about best value for you, our client and that we are probably the most expensive manufacturer of PVCu sliding sash windows in the UK…
Alan believes that quality is never cheapest with only weak companies use price as their main USP. He believes that companies who discount heavily, often have to sell 30% more to make the same net cash.
As a result, Masterframe have developed their Bygone Collection and sales are very healthy, with increasing numbers of companies interested in joining the network. They’ve added a few initiatives to the Bygone Collection, including putting all installers through a training programme. Indeed, by September they hope every installer will have an NVQ for installation.
8. Crystal Direct
I recently had an interview on this website with fellow Synseal fabricator Martin Randall of Crystal Direct, and was impressed with his confidence. Indeed, I always hear good things from Synseal staff ‘on the grapevine’ about Crystal – one of their largest fabricators in the UK.
They seem to be bucking the trend with sales were up 17% in January, 23% in February and 3% in March, compared to the same period last year, and they’ve have had to take on new staff to cope with the demand. Martin puts this down to a customer-led approach to marketing initiatives, customer support and product choice.
They push a complete range of SynerJy and Shield Synseal profile and internal or external glazing and mechanical joints or reverse butt welded frames. They offer vertical sliders, bi-fold doors, composite doors, a choice of Ultraframe or Synseal conservatory roofing systems, glass roofs and polycarb, A and C energy rated windows in SynerJy and Shield and a full Artisan colour range from stock. All of these products have short lead times with on time, in full deliveries and effective marketing and service support.
I get the impression that Crystal Direct have a no nonsense approach to business which is certainly paying off despite the recession.
9. Everest
Despite rumoured troubles within the Latium Group, I feel Everest is in a strong position to weather the downturn and progress.
I have heard from a number of sources how strong sales results have been in 2009, and have been impressed by their recent marketing initiatives, particularly the TV campaign and development of their website.
In my opinion, the Everest brand is probably the strongest brand in our industry, primarily because homeowners believe that Everest stands for quality. There will always be a certain type of consumer who just wants the best, and Everest have successfully marketed themselves as the best. I’m not saying I agree that they are the best, but I feel that over the years the company has positioned itself very well.
And these days, Everest is not just a window and conservatory company – they do kitchens, solar panels, flat roofs, garage doors, driveways and security systems. In other words, they’ve rebranded themselves effectively as a Home Improvement company.
10. Franklin Windows
The team at Franklin Windows in Leeds were hit hard as the recession took, and they were forced into a restructuring programme at the back end of the year. This included stripping out all unnecessary costs, from trading in expensive Range Rovers, renegotiating their lease and sending back the drinks machine.
Despite sales being down on a like-for-like basis compared to 2008, I feel that Franklin Windows are in a stronger and leaner position to trade profitably in the future. Indeed, the company has made money every month this year and are now investing in their future.
They’ve increased marketing spend, and concentrated on advertising in areas which brings in business. I’ve been keeping my eye on their website, and they’re embracing new media such as a blog section and David and Josh are developing their Twitter profiles.
They’re well known for composite windows and conservatories, but are also developing other products such as garage doors and roofline, and pushing them to their loyal customer base.
I could mention loads more companies on this list, but I think the above 10 companies are a good start. If you agree, or disagree, then I’d like to hear your thoughts. If you have any suggestions for companies who are beating the recession I’d like to hear from you, as I may just do ‘10 more companies beating the recession’ soon.
PS. I thought it best not to add Conservatory Outlet on the list as I didn’t want to see bias in any way … even though we should have been listed 
