March 2022

Market turbulence
'FOCUS ON THE HIGH END'
In a rapidly changing market, it’s going to get tough out there for installers. Martyn Elwell,
Sales and Marketing Director of Central Window Systems, shares his thoughts and advice
on how to stay ahead in 2022…
For the past 24 months, the industry has
enjoyed a welcome post-lockdown boom,
thanks to many homeowners investing
money that would have been spent on holidays
abroad and other luxuries in renovating their
properties instead.
In fact, according to research by Santander, UK
homeowners applied for over 60,000 extensions
and conversions in the 13 weeks of lockdown,
while four in five homeowners renovated their
homes in the following months.
Sales for new windows and doors, conservatories,
extensions and garden rooms soared, and despite
the supply chain issues and price increases that
resulted, for the glazing industry it was a trading
period like no other.
Now, two years since Covid-19 first introduced
itself, that’s all changing.
With most restrictions now a thing of the past and
Central has increased its product range to include
high-end products like the aluminium casement window
Martyn Elwell
travel almost fully reopened, it seems the general
public is making up for lost time.
In the past few weeks alone, hundreds of
thousands of Brits embarked on a half-term
getaway following the government’s scrapping
“There’s no denying
it – things are tough
out there for installers,
and it’s only going to
become more difficult”
of coronavirus testing for fully vaccinated
travellers.
And with the recent news of a record increase
in global gas prices seeing an energy price cap
rise of 54%, home improvements have certainly
dropped down the list of spending priorities.
The market is certainly looking very different to
how it did two years ago, and I do see things
becoming much more difficult for the industry in
2022, especially as the surge in demand calms
down.
The number of domestic installations has
decreased dramatically, something we’ve seen
first-hand at Central Window Systems, with
domestic projects dropping by 30% in the past
few years.
There’s no denying it – things are tough out
there for installers, and it’s only going to
become more difficult.
So what’s the answer?
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.
In general, homeowners who previously had
more disposable income as a result of the
pandemic no longer have that extra cash
to hand now that life has for the most part
returned to normal and are therefore no longer
spending on improving their properties.
Continued on page 24
22 T I MARCH 2022 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST