Clearview 242 - January 2022 | Page 27

Annual Predictions

GRASP THE NETTLE

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year , take stock of 2021 and , more importantly , look forward to what we may face in 2022 .
SIMON MONKS , MANAGING DIRECTOR VBH GB

For many of us , conducting business in 2021 was a challenge for a whole host of reasons including the pandemic itself , the continued surge in general consumer buying , product availability issues and never-ending , but necessary , price rises for the raw materials that we all depend upon .

However , as a collective , our industry not only coped ; we prospered . In the case of VBH 2021 was an exceptional year .
As I write this in November , we look set to record our best year since the UK company was founded in 1982 .
While I recognise that VBH has benefitted from ‘ the bubble ’, as we all have , I can also point to other factors that have pushed us ahead of the curve . Among these is our decision , taken at the beginning of the pandemic , to grasp the nettle in terms of product development .
We pushed on with New Product Development when many of our rivals battened down the hatches , and that decision has borne fruit in the form of an almost relentless stream of new products for our sales team , and our customers , to get their teeth into .
Securitas security espagnolette , Invicta shootbolt , Orion 3 star cylinder , Q-Smart electronic door handle , Clearlift lift / slide patio system ,
Clearslide inline sliding patio system , two new Omega letterboxes , new additions to our Clearspan bi-fold range , Coastline sliding door handles ; It ’ s a long list , but one that we believe will stand is in good stead as we move into 2022 .
I don ’ t want to be a harbinger of doom but we need to face some facts . We don ’ t know when , but that bubble that I mentioned earlier will burst , or at least deflate a little as consumer spending slows . Product availability will take a while to stabilise and the signs are that material prices will continue to rise or possibly plateau . They are not coming down any time soon .
Companies that will thrive are those like VBH who invest wisely in products for healthy
markets and / or markets that are set to flourish . These companies are also those who think innovatively and offer their potential customers something extra to set themselves apart from the rest .
I believe that installers should concentrate on products that are set to grow . Those of us who have the option of working from home at least some of the time have found that it can have real benefits . We made it ‘ do-able ’ in 2020 / 21 in spare rooms and kitchen tables but now we ’ re making it comfortable with garden rooms being built for use as home offices or gyms , or even just a place to relax . Other people are choosing to re-model their homes to accommodate the home-office .
Extensions and garden rooms need windows but they lend themselves particularly to lifestyle products such as bi-folding and lift / slide doors . It ’ s a great market to be in . You need to sell a lot of windows to make the same money as you do on one patio door !
Of course , you will not be the only company in your town selling these products so you need to differentiate yourself . You can ’ t reduce the price , because of the price increases that I touched on earlier , and in any case , who wants to be known as a BOGOF merchant ?
Instead , upsell your customers to a smart front door handle , or give them that ’ s worth having , but which costs you nothing to give . We can help with that . Our Q-secure consumer hardware guarantee will pay the homeowner up to £ 8000 direct if they are broken into through a Q-secure spec window or door and the hardware is at fault . Our Orion 3 star cylinder comes with the proteQ10 £ 2000 snap guarantee .
Both guarantees cost you nothing , and we can see from the registrations that arrive daily , that consumers are buying into both in a big way .
So grasp the nettle in 2022 . Specialise in burgeoning markets , focus on quality , and differentiate yourself from the rest .
www . vbhgb . com
CLEARVIEW-UK . COM JANUARY 2022
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