I found the following message on the BizOnline website:
We got timing right, says Anglian
One of the biggest names in the home improvement industry yesterday predicted that profits will rise this year despite the slowing economy, troubled housing market and dented consumer confidence.
Anglian Home Improvements said revenues were down but profits were up in the six months to September - and forecast a better financial performance this year than last.
The last year has seen major restructuring at Anglian, with the closure of its Rochdale operation and the move to bring all manufacturing to Norwich.
Refinancing of the firm saw a change of ownership in June, with a syndicate of banks taking a controlling stake in the business from venture capital group Alchemy in exchange for reducing the company’s debt by £90m.
The restructuring of the business, which employs about 1,000 people in Norwich, has also seen 94 job losses, with 58 taking voluntary redundancy.
Anglian chief executive Peter Mottershead also urged chancellor Alistair Darling to use targeted tax cuts to bolster consumer confidence and encourage businesses to invest for the long term.
“When you look at the early part of this year, Anglian was one of the businesses to recognise fairly early on that markets were going to get tough,” Mr Mottershead said.
“We had to take a view on what we needed to do to get ready for what was potentially going to happen. The refinancing was really a reflection of that. We worked closely with our investors and financial institutions to come up with package we all felt comfortable with that would take the business on to another level. It was trying to stay ahead of what was happening in the marketplace. Trying to do it today would be quite difficult -, just trying to talk to the banks today about these sorts of things is probably quite challenging for some companies. We got the timing right. Back in May-June, some people will have taken it as a sign of weakness. Today, they take it as a sign of strength. We did it at the time was that was right for us, and resulted in a stronger business going forward. When you look at what has happened in our sector since then, the number of companies that have unfortunately gone out of the industry is large because they haven’t been able to do some of the things we’ve done ahead of the curve.”
Mr Mottershead said the firm had worked closely with unions about job losses and said he hoped this year’s restructuring had left the business in better shape for the future.
“By working with the GMB and being in a position where most people understood the current environment, we’ve managed to come up with joint proposal which has seen two thirds of the number of redundancies we were looking for taking voluntary redundancy. It has taken a lot of hard work with the union to end up in that position. But we and they were able to come up with something that will help the business and in the long term will help their members as well.”
He added: “By the acts we’ve taken, we’ve remained profitable and cash generative in the financial year to date and our aim is to have a better performance in this period than last year - and we’re well on target to do that, despite the difficulties.
“We have looked at our business, taken decisive action and feel that if a customer deals with us, we are in a strong position to keep our end of the bargain and our long term commitment to them.”
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I have been critical of Anglian in the past on this website, but if the message is true, then Anglian have taken the right steps to secure their position, and trade profitably through the coming months. It is the sensible companies who are restructuring in this climate, and those which bury their heads in the sand which will struggle.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Paul // Nov 14, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Peter Mottershead’s comments are carefully chosen to reflect a crafted point of view that Anglian has seen the calamity and averted such by wise aforethought that is benefitting them today. I have learnt a lot about smooth marketing from the statements above.
I suspect the truth is that Anglian had huge and unsustainable debts that would have sent them under had the banks not intervened. Huge debts equating to about £150,000 per employee if some figures are to be believed. And to save their investment, the banks have become reluctant owners of Anglian.
How have these debts mounted up. In part, it
must include their ill-advised price cutting on the domestic market. This has brought the whole market down and themselves with it.
A job we are installing on Monday tells the true story. Having installed satisfactorily elsewhere and being recommended by two close relatives, this customer was likely to be ours. But no! Anglian canvass phones her.Then the rep and manager put so much pressure on her (with methods that I presumed were outlawed recently), she signs a contract unwillingly, bursting into tears after the rep left. This from a lady that is permanently ill and medicated. What went through the reps heart as he shook her twisted, arthritic hands, I wonder.
She managed, with difficulty, to cancel the contract. Then she followed her original chosen course of ordering from our company.
Unbelievably, the manager then began calling her, reducing the price from the multi- thousand 5 figure start down to only £3,900.
Our figure was and is £4,400. The lady refused their offer and asked them not to call again. But do firm statements like that stop them-no way!
Incidentally, as I understand it, this Manager had been fired by Anglian 2 years previously for using overly aggressive methods even for Anglian. Now the unemployable is re-employed to assassinate the paying public due to Anglian’s desperate need to make profits rise for their new masters. And the poor Anglian reps -little or no income for them when the manager sweeps the customer. No wonder they hard sell before losing their means of living to a system that wipes the floor with their earnings.
Our industry has cleaned itself up in many quarters , improving products and services . Many place their wares in a pleasant, appealing and non-threatening way before the enquiring public whilst still using sales methods of integrity. But some hard sell haters of their fellowman’s right to dignity within their own homes still find an unwelcome place within the double glazing fraternity.
Yes, we will lose other jobs due to Anglian’s sick form of selling. We were fortunate to re-gain this one. We just lost another where an elderly customer of 20 years standing was bamboozled into signing with Anglian,but is in the process of cancelling if he can. Their cancellation book must be huge in areas where they allow these rogues to perform their trained pressure selling techniques.
Anglian-lets hope the banks eventually lose their shirts for backing such a monster, allowing this Frankenstein to once again rampage among consumers and competition alike. It should have been left for dead, caused by its own faulty trading methods, not ressurrected to haunt our otherwise improving industry.
Paul
2 Renegade Conservatory Guy // Nov 15, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Hi Paul
Thanks for your comments.
The point I was making was more in relation to all companies in the industry needing to secure their position during difficult trading conditions.
As you know, I entirely agree with your sentiment in relation to alleged high pressure sales techniques of Anglian Windows, and other companies in our industry.
I’m all for companies being proactive in order to achieve sales, but there is a right and wrong way to go about it.
RCG
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