November/December 2021

Market Analysis
Continued from page 28
What this says to me, is that homeowners will
continue to replace their windows, their doors, if we
give them enough of a reason to. The appearance
of their home has become more important to them,
and they have a growing awareness of the options
that are available to them.
It’s not only retail, we see it in what we supply into
new-build, because house builders have locked
onto the same thing. Alongside white, they’ll
specify flush foils, because they know that the right
choice of windows and doors will sell houses.
Product appearance has always been a factor,
no one would buy ugly windows and doors, but
aesthetic match, either in style or colour is going
to be more important.
4. Smart tech will gain traction
Most of us are already using Smart technologies,
although predominantly in the entertainment
and communication space, for example Smart
phones, TVs and speakers. According to PWC only
30% of UK households have purchased a Smart
home improvement, for example, doorbell, burglar
alarm, or now, smart windows or doors.
That figure to me is a little bit low, but either way
it highlights an area of opportunity. Smart is still a
new area of the market. There are lots of exciting
opportunities, and like colour, flush casements
and enhanced aesthetics, smart windows and
doors, will transform the window and doors sales
process, generating new opportunities to upsell.
Emplas has partnered with Kubu from day one,
supplying its door lock as standard across our
composite door range.
It’s USP is that it’s equipped with a smart sensor.
This gives retailers the opportunity to pitch a
smart prepped door to the end-user at no extra
cost to their business – or to sell the upgraded
smart connected product. All you need to do is
insert the Kubu battery powered module. No wiring
or additional work is required. The homeowner
downloads the app and the job’s done.
That’s where believe our proposition adds value.
It keeps smart technology simple but delivers
stacks of commercial opportunities, which will
only build as we move forward.
As a retailer you can offer the end-user
something different. T&K has been doing it for
more than two years.
5. Sustainability
And this is where things get a little serious. As I
write, the UN Climate Change Conference is about
to take place. That may seem some distant lofty
political event, but it is going to shape our market
going forward.
Again, at the time of writing, revisions to Part L
should soon be published. That’s driving some
fairly substantial new requirements for energy
efficiency but is only a stepping-stone in the
journey to the Future Homes Standard.
This sets out new requirements to make all new
homes ‘zero carbon ready’ by 2025, reducing
carbon emissions by a minimum 75% compared
to the present.
That’s new-build not retail, I hear you say?!
The point is, where new-build leads, home
improvements will follow. The Government has
some big targets to hit. A push to improve the
energy efficiency of existing housing stock is
inevitable and while the Green Deal, and Green
Homes Grant have been abject failures, we can
be sure that new initiatives will follow – because
they have to.
This, combined with the increased awareness of
climate change, is going to influence the purchasing
of each and every generation going forward.
Companies who can evidence and communicate
the positive contribution their offer makes to
reducing the impact of people’s homes on climate
change will generate new opportunities.
The issue of plastic pollution – and by association
a potentially negative impact on PVC-U sales
– is something we should also be aware of and
address now, through proactive education of the
end-user. It doesn’t need to be a negative, but it
will be if, as an industry, we don’t address it.
“The issue of plastic pollution is something
we should address now, through proactive
education of the end-user”
Contact Emplas:
01933 674880
www.emplas.co.uk
@EmplasWindows
30 TI NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST