I say that there’s two installation markets opening up, it’s already happened. But those two halves are becoming increasingly more defined as the years go by.

There’s the “value” side of the installations market, with companies choosing to sell budget windows and doors to home owners who are looking for a quick, affordable fix. The kinds of home owners who may not be staying in their homes for much longer, or just simply do not see windows and doors as a purchase that commands higher amounts of money to be spent on them.

Then there is the premium, higher end, more luxury side if installation. Where certain installers have identified the luxury end of the market as the way to go to find profits, better contracts and projects to be shown off as badges of honour.

The latter is the route we are firmly down at our place, and although the work loads around this type of project are massive in comparison to the “normal” work, the end results and home owner reactions are worth it.

Two routes, I know which one I want

As you’ll all know, I am firmly a fan or the higher end part of the market. There are plenty of installers out there fighting in a battle to the bottom when it comes to price. I don’t see why many others need to join that fight. It ultimately leads to companies going to the wall and is a cycle that only damages the industry. In my own opinion of course.

The better margins, the more prestigious contracts lie at the higher end of the market. This is a focus we took on a few years ago as we came out of the Great Recession. We now have a whole host of new products and the options they come with. We have stopped considering ourselves as sales people and we see ourselves more as designers than anything else. The end result is that we now get to work on a great many superb properties that would make the front covers of home renovation magazines and websites.

These are some of the more recent installations we have undertaken where we all got a bit house jealous:

This is just a selection of our work. We are just completing a stunning barn conversion, which I’ll be happy to post pictures on social media of next week. I visited a superb home in Dewsbury built in 1869 with character you just don’t see now. I visited a home this week in a conservation area with a stone built bungalow set in gorgeous countryside. On top of that, I am completing quotes on three major renovations where architects and builders have sent us their specifications.

I firmly believe that we are picking many of these prestige contracts up now because of our decision a few years ago to really invest in the higher end part of our market. It’s now paying dividends and we’re really starting to rack up a very high quality list of completed projects on luxury homes.

Two tiers

This is just us as an example. There are plenty around us who still aim for the shiny white window business, of which there will always be a market for. But that’s a crowded market in our local area. Many compete for the same business, undercutting in a race to the bottom. Is that really the sort of business we want to go after?

I know that going for the prestigious contracts is a lot more work and draining on resources, but I also know that if we want to make a decent profit margin then that’s the work we should be aiming for. The referrals from that work also make it worth doing. I left a home owner earlier on today who was so excited about their installation that they were inviting all their friends round for a BBQ on Sunday just to show it off. That’s the kind of contract I want to win when I’m quoting.

But there will always be two tiers, because there will always be home owners who want cheap windows and doors to fill the holes in their house, no matter how you approach your sales demonstration. And that’s fine, that’s the prerogative of the home owner. In the same breath, there will also be installers who are perfectly happy with trying to win that sort of business. There will be installers who will look at the bigger, more complicated projects and will walk away from them for a range of reasons.

As we move forward as an industry, I see these two halves becoming more defined and very separate from each other. The pattern new product launches are following is definitely the luxury route. And home owners in some areas are certainly becoming more educated and discerning when it comes to home improvement works.

It’s a very dynamic, interesting time to be in windows and doors right now. Who is longing for the days of simple White windows and a couple of doors? Easier to plan? Easier to sell and install?

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