I think the featured image for this post is appropriate. The one thing people will take away from the month of April is that it felt very much like Winter for most of it rather than Spring. Snow was falling right up until the very last day of the month. It didn’t really feel much like Spring.

Also, April was probably about the busiest month for the industry of the whole year, with the third FIT Show opening it’s doors in Telford and the second NFA Winners Event taking place in the space of two week. So as we head into May, lets take a look back at the fenestration industry in the past month.

All about the FIT Show

The talk of the industry was quite obviously centered around the FIT Show in April. Billed as the industry’s biggest and most important exhibition in at least ten years, it certainly delivered in terms of visitor numbers, quality of products on show and on general feedback from the sector. If you click here you can read a number of reviews written immediately after the show.

Visitor numbers did indeed impress, with footfall breaking 8500 for the first time, a huge jump from the previous exhibition numbers. And for those who were there, you will have certainly noticed it. A number of companies promised “game changing” products, though in reality what we saw was a range of high quality new products, but the “game” more improved than changed.

The show now moves to the NEC in Birmingham for 2017, with the show then operating bi-annually with 2019 the date of the next exhibition. Pressure will be on all those involved to ensure the show brings people through the doors.

National Fenestration Awards Winners Event

About a week after the end of the FIT Show, we held our second NFA Winners Event, celebrating the winners of the 2015 NFA campaign.

It was bigger and better than our first one, held once again at Oulton Park Race Track, driving some of the most exciting performance cars on challenging circuits. Click here to read my review of the day and evening.

What a day and evening it was. Such a great buzz and such a great bunch of people, truly the best the industry has. Pressure is on now for the third Winners Event!

Brisk business

Despite the EU referendum creeping closer and news about the UK economy being a bit on the gloomy side, the mood coming out of the industry during April was still pretty positive.

At our place leads have continued to be made in very good numbers, and we were in fact 29% up on sales in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, which is a great rate of growth. Our story matches with many others, and I continue to see tweets and LinkedIn posts confirming that despite potential shocks ahead and rocky economic conditions, business in the window sector continues to be positive.

DGB in April

On the DGB front, as you can see from the infographic above, the site continued to experience very strong growth once again in April.

When it came to visitors and unique visitors, April was another great month. However page views were only up 7%, which I am slightly disappointed with. In retrospect though, with the FIT Show and NFA Winners Event taking up so much time, I found myself struggling a little bit to write something daily and then promote that content on social media as much as I would have normally done. Had I had that time, that 7% may have been more like 15%.

Still, onwards and upwards and May looks like it could be another good month for the industry. However, I would caution on the feel good factor staying much beyond May. The EU referendum is in June, and if the poll result looks to be uncertain right up until polling day, then you can bet on some nerves mucking things up a bit for all of us.

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