Quality Sells

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There’s no escaping the fact that it’s been a difficult first half of the year for many, writes AluK’s MD Russell Yates as he warns that should not be an excuse to cut prices. Instead – sell quality is his advice.

Economic conditions are tough generally but more immediately, it has been weather conditions that have stopped installers and builders getting on site. The effects of the incessant rain are being felt all the way along the supply chain.

Sadly, we’re now also seeing signs of the usual race to the bottom on price (particularly on aluminium bi-folds) which seems to characterise any kind of downturn in the UK fenestration market in a way that just doesn’t seem to happen in mainland Europe. With casualties already rising amongst retail and commercial facing businesses as margins are squeezed, it doesn’t take a huge amount of insight to recognise that this is a dangerous strategy.

 

Growth strategies

Surviving and thriving in this market is not just about having deep enough pockets to literally ‘weather the storm’ though, it’s about having a long-term sales and customer support strategy which is about so much more than just price.

 

Ready to roll

I’m pleased to be able to report that AluK is in a really good position now to be able to help our customers navigate the market if it stays in the doldrums for a while or if the gloom finally lifts and we see all that pent up demand being released.

We are always looking at ways to deliver better value so that customers can keep their hard-earned margins intact. That’s everything from new single, standard and bulk buying discounts which reduce up-front costs, to faster lead times on our Elements ‘made to order’ single colours to speed up orders and make it quicker to convert an order into cash.

 

Security and hardware

We’ve also reviewed hardware and handle options on our biggest selling products such as the BSF70 HI bi-fold door to offer a wider range at different price points so that customers can tailor their offering to suit themselves. And of course, we’ve just launched the Quik Clip clip-in bead system which saves fabricators and installers valuable time on every product they fit. It’s already available on the BSF70 HI and is also now an option on our brand new, S140 lift & slide patio door.

 

What you need

The S140 is part of our ongoing mission to give customers the products they need to successfully target the higher end of the market where demand and margins are still more robust. 

It has the slim sightlines and flush sash aesthetics which retail buyers love, coupled with impressively low U-Values. These are achieved using CEN sizes as well, rather than the slightly misleading extreme sizes used by some of our competitors in this market. This is a door which ticks boxes for fabricators and installers looking to get a bigger slice of the premium market – it’s easy to manufacture and thanks to the addition of Quik Clip system, very quick to glaze.

 

Long run

I can assure all our customers that AluK is in this market for the long run. We obviously have strong financial backing as part of a global group, yet we can also offer the kind of operational stability and reliable service that customers need to withstand whatever the future economic and weather conditions turn out to be.

 

Pictures: The enhanced BSF70 HI bi-fold door and the new S140 lift & slide patio door.

uk.aluk.com

Article written by Russell Yates, MD AluK
24th June 2024

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