In a rapidly changing market, it’s tough out there for installers. AJ Hassanali, Director of Direct Trade Windows, shares his advice…
It’s hard to imagine that three years ago, the UK was in the midst of a global pandemic. While Covid-19 dominated the headlines, the industry was in the throes of a very welcome home improvement boom, thanks to homeowners investing money that could no longer be spent on holidays abroad and other luxuries, into improving their properties.
Sales for conservatories, extensions, garden rooms, new windows and doors soared, and despite the supply chain issues and price increases that resulted, for the glazing industry, it was a trading period like no other.
Today of course, the market is looking very different, and with a cost of living crisis facing us head on, home improvements have dropped down the list of spending priorities for many homeowners.
It’s certainly made things more difficult for installers – so how can they stay ahead?
Premium product offering
My advice to installers would be to try to focus on serving the higher end of the market, as this is a sector I see continuing to flourish.
While there are of course rising energy bills and other growing expenses taking priority, there will always be higher earning households who still have the money to spend, and generally, it’s this group that would rather invest in premium products.
And being a supplier of premium aluminium home improvement solutions, we are well positioned to offer the products to help.
Working from a state-of-the-art factory just outside London, we exclusively manufacture steel-look aluminium products.
These include a wide range of Smart products, including AluSpace internal screening, Alitherm 300 casement windows, tilt & turn windows, Heritage doors and casement windows, Visofold 1000 and 6000 bi-fold doors, VS600 vertical sliding sash windows, and the Aliver orangery roof and roof light system.
We also manufacture and supply a range of Cortizo products, including the Cor Vision sliding door, 4600 lift and slide door, and 4700 sliding door.
All our products have been designed to offer premium luxury, such as the Aluspace internal screening system, which gives architects, interior designers and installers the opportunity to create space and light in any internal environment.
The system can be used to divide both residential and commercial spaces of any shape and size, while at the same time providing an effective acoustic barrier.
And with a choice of hinged single and double doors, as well as pivot and sliding options to accompany the fixed glazed screen, the flexible and versatile system provides almost limitless possibilities.
The VS600 vertical sliding sash windows, meanwhile, achieve an A-rating for energy efficiency, are fully tested to ensure maximum weather resistance, and can be tailored to complement any style.
These premium windows are rapidly growing in popularity, and are therefore an excellent way of helping our trade customers get ahead.
With such a wide product offering, we’re able to cater for an equally large demand for premium products, ensuring our trade customers are always able to get what they need, when they need it, and stay ahead of the competition.
Customer support
In addition to product quality, it’s vital that suppliers help their customers where they can, which is why we’ve invested heavily in software solutions in order to help our trade customers take the lead.
These include a quoting app that can be used to provide installers with sales support and infrastructure, and job management software which allows clear visuals of ongoing factory processes at any given time, enabling us to provide exact and guaranteed delivery times to our customers.
It’s certainly a changing market out there, but I believe that with strategic investments in premium products, trade installers will continue to flourish, with Direct Trade Windows at hand for support all the way.
If you’re an installer looking for a reliable supplier of high-quality products combined with dedicated support, give us a call today – we’d love to hear from you.
For more information, visit www.directtradewindows.co.uk.
