Why I hate Christmas
Ever since I’ve been running a double glazing company I’ve hated Christmas.
Maybe ‘hate’ is a strong word, but I do feel that it has a very negative effect on the glass and glazing industry for the following reasons:
December Sales
With less than 4 weeks to the big day, my wife’s Christmas plans are well on track, sorting presents for the kids and other family members. All the arrangements for the festive period are being made – although I try keep out of this entirely for political reasons.
The key point is that because Christmas is so close, we are not thinking about purchasing a three piece suite, or a new car, or booking a holiday, because we’re focussing our expenditure for the next few weeks on Christmas. People throughout the UK are doing the same, so there are very few people in the market at this time for conservatories, uPVC windows, uPVC doors etc.
The knock-on effect is that many companies will not have enough to fit in January and February.
The Christmas Rush
September, October and November is a real peak time for the double glazing industry, with many of our customers this year investing in energy efficient windows, a fancy new composite front door, or a bespoke conservatory before Christmas. You see, with the relatives coming around, people want their houses to look smart, and a new conservatory gives extra space for the Christmas tree.
So, most of the installation companies will be flat out up until December 23rd satisfying customer demand to get the work finished before Christmas. The problem is that many of these installation companies cram too much work in, on the run up to Chrismas, and they don’t have enough left over for January to fit.
The Christmas Holiday
As a business owner, I entirely understand that my staff need time with their family and have the opportunity to relax and unwind. The problem with Christmas, though, is that we’re forced into everybody taking this holiday at the same time!.
This means that for virtually two weeks, business owners have to pay all their staff to stay at home stuffing their faces and watching TV, while no money is coming in. You see because it’s Christmas nobody wants any workmen at their houses making a mess!
Not only have businesses to pay all their staff over Christmas, they also have the bulk of their other overheads to pay as normal, such as rent/rates, insurance, advertising etc. And, then there’s the VAT bill to pay!
It’s a double whammy and the effect on cash flow for many businesses can be a real challenge.
January – Bills to pay
Because there’s this crazy mad rush to fit work before Christmas, and because new sales leads are thin on the ground from the end of November to Christmas day, there’s not enough being fitted in January. This means not enough cash coming in after a two week period of NO cash coming in. But companies working on monthly accounts need to pay their November accounts during the first week in January. The problem is their November purchases are high because consumers wanted their windows fitting before Christmas, so installers bought loads of products in.
The first couple of weeks in January are the most challenging time for any company in the double glazing industry, especially those without wool on their backs.
Weather / daylight hours
The bad weather over this period of time, combined with the fact that fitters pack up and go to the pub at 4pm every day because it’s cold and dark, means that installation companies will struggle to get the profitability out of their installations which they can achieve in the warmer months.
Conclusion
Christmas is an artificially created holiday which benefits some businesses and has a negative effect on others. For the double glazing industry the annual trough created by Christmas ensures that many companies fail over this period.
With the added challenge of the current recession, and falling demand for uPVC products then this festive period will be an even bigger challenge than usual. We’re always going to find that work slows down in December, January and February but my point is that Christmas makes things a lot worse for our industry.
There is a plus side to my thoughts here. As a direct result of businesses failing last Christmas, we managed to pick up some great new business this year both on the trade side and through our retail business West Yorkshire Windows having less competition.
So, I’ll no doubt join in with the festivities, spoil the kids, eat and drink too much, and generally have a good time in the knowledge that in January there’ll be some rich pickings.
Tags: Predictions
Good posting.
We work with over 500 different companies each year and 50% of them love xmas (mainly the retail clients!) and 50% hate it!
One of the haters is me! No-one wants training in Xmas or to book training. They are too busy getting sloshed or on holiday during December.
But it is a time to do some planning – I find the quiet period nice to sit back and make my plan of attack for 2009!
Sean
Hi Sean
Thanks for your comments. It’s good to hear from you and get a non-industry perspective on my posts.
My brother-in-law has it sorted. He sells lawnmowers which is clearly a seasonal item. During the winter months he has his servicing work for cricket clubs, but his main side line is selling Christmas trees.
I hear what you’re saying about planning. One of the advantages of Christmas is when you get back to work, you’re full of ideas and lots of energy.
RCG
Christmas is a time of cheer for me if for no other reason than my work-shy 21 year old son can once again enjoy employment as Santa and alternatively an elf in the shopping mall grotto. He tells me that at least it’s a regular job….
Paul, I’ll give him a job in my factory if he wants to experiance some real work?
You can do a piece on it…