The Business Pilot Barometer - Margate, Kent, United Kingdom - Window Film Magazine

Description

The Business Pilot Barometer offers a monthly analysis of the key trends defining window and door retail. It draws on real industry data collated by Business Pilot, the cloud-based business management.

Increase in leads and sales defies expectations

By Neil Cooper-Smith, Senior Analyst, Business Pilot

Both leads and sales rebounded in January, heralding a positive start to 2024 despite the wider market appearing sluggish.

Before we pulled off the data from Business Pilot this month for the Barometer, we had a chat in the office about how we thought the first month had gone, and we were all surprisingly upbeat.

'Surprisingly' because many of the discussions in the trade press and online had been downbeat. For example: inflation is still too high, Bank of England interest rate isn't coming down quick enough, the cost of energy is still fluctuating wildly, global supply chains are in trouble now there is fighting in the Red Sea.

These sentiments were accompanied by published reports that said that some parts of the UK construction industry struggled in the second half of 2023.

None of that is wrong, and we have to weigh all of those factors (and more) into our decision-making process.

The reason why we were more upbeat in the office was because despite the negativity, we knew things were beginning to look up after positive conversations we'd had with window companies – including those who do use Business Pilot, and those who don't.

We could see the picture was more positive than the news would have us believe, but being the sticklers for data that we are, we waited for the figures to be published before making up our minds.

Sure enough, average sales were 58.4 – back up to what it was in November 2023. Not only that but they were 43.4% higher than a year previously, and 42.4% higher than the same period in 2022.

And when it comes to leads, the brakes have been removed. At an average of 139.8, the average leads were 25.6% higher than November 2023 (ignoring the typically quiet month of December) and 23.2% higher than the same period a year ago.

It is also worth noting that average lead times had dropped significantly to 16.4 days, which is 53.7% quicker than November 2023 (an average of 35.4 days) suggesting that homeowners have started 2024 with a determination to carry out home improvements and are making their minds up quickly.

This is supported by recent reports that the house market is picking up, which has accompanied a 0.7% rise in average house prices and a continued fall in mortgage rates.

Interestingly, the biggest bounce back in leads by material type by some margin was PVC-U. Coupled with a slight fall in average order value to £3,150 (down 5.9% on December 2023), this suggests that the volume end of the market is partly responsible for the increased activity.

Image Above: Arun Photay While new to the glass industry, owner of Thermoseal Group customer Glass Express Midlands, Arun Photay, is focused on driving up quality – rubbing shoulders with ministers in the process. We talk to him to find out more. Oldbury-based IGU...

We talk to Julien Piper, Director of Omega Windows, Doors and Conservatories about the benefits of partnering with Sternfenster. Margate-based Omega, has sold the full Sternfenster range windows and doors to homeowners across Kent since 1994, and has operated from...

Thermoseal's sales director Mark Hickox argues that the Future Homes and Buildings Standards were an opportunity missed, but are they just a red herring? On December 13, 2023, the government finally opened the consultation on the Future Homes and Buildings...

By Angus Mackie - Qualicoat Chair The recently released Technical Information Sheet No.4 from Qualicoat 'Recommendations for the Corrosion protection' now offers specifiers guidance on the recommended pretreatment system to specify for various "Corrosivity...

With construction output expected to decrease by 2.1% in 2024, according the latest report from the Construction Products Association, how will aluminium fenestration fare in the year ahead? It is fair to say that 2024 will be a challenge for some, but for many it...

Image Above: Michale Hewitt Over the past four years, AT Precision has carved a niche as a leading UK hardware supplier for window and door fabricators. And with a focus on in-house manufacturing, quality and affordability, they've earned a loyal following. We sat...

Image Above: Mark Atkinson Do you have the tools to engage with a new house-buying generation, asks Hurst's Sales Director Mark Atkinson. According to the Office for National Statistics, property values were £6,000 lower in November 2023 than they were a year...

With the latest Ofgem price cap increase coming into force, and inflation defying the odds by rising once again, the importance of selling energy efficiency and sustainability has never been greater, according to Deceuninck UK MD Rob McGlennon. The price of...

Image Above: Sam Nucky, Window Ware managing director Sam Nuckey, MD of independent hardware distributor Window Ware, considers the opportunities for the year ahead. Even though demand looks set to continue softening in the months ahead, and we will need to...

We talk to Dave Broxton, Managing Director at Bohle, about how companies can capitalise on the current trend for quality home renovations. More homeowners are renovating their homes with a view to the future, with a recent study finding that 62% of homeowners who...

Duration

Description

cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics 11 months This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".

cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional 11 months The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".

cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary 11 months This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".

cookielawinfo-checkbox-others 11 months This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.

cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance 11 months This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".

viewed_cookie_policy 11 months The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.