Clearview National April 2019 - Issue 209 | Page 4

FROMTHEEDITOR
Same old
‘white gold’?
In my editor’s letter last month, I
spoke about the open-door policy
I’ve witnessed in fenestration,
and waxed lyrical about the
women in industry articles we
had in March’s magazine; written
by and about some of the
fantastic females in fenestration.
» » I WASN’T VERY IMPRESSED THEREFORE
when the representative of a national door and window
company (that will remain safely anonymous) stood on my
doorstep this week, and asked when my husband would be
home so he could speak to him. After politely asking him to
leave (I didn’t want to come across ‘hysterical’), I double-
checked my calendar, and upon confirming that it was
indeed 2019, and not 1955, I wondered should I feel lucky
that this is one of the first times this has ever happened to
me or insulted that it happened at all?
Ironically, we (my long-term partner and I who have
chosen not to marry) are currently looking for some new
windows due to a sizeable crack and several condensated
units on the front (for, as they say, the cobbler’s children
are often ill-shod) so I was more than willing to discuss the
options from the cold-caller, if only he would’ve realised
I’m capable of making my own decisions. His loss, I guess.
Contrary to the first 200-words of this intro though,
my letter this month isn’t one about sexism but of the
wider issue of pushy salespeople, particularly in double
glazing. And, while I have spent the past few years reading
and writing (in several capacities) of all the work that has
gone into reversing the public reputation of the industry
from the 1980s and 1990s, it was a shame that when I
was approached ‘cold’ as a consumer, the experience I had
reflected nothing of what I see going on from ‘the inside’.
As well as my stature in the household being overlooked
simply because I was female, I couldn’t get a word in
edgeways with the person on my doorstep, and when I
did manage to answer a few of his arbitrary questions,
even by trying to proffer that we did in fact need some
new windows, he was so entranced in his own ‘spiel’ that
he didn’t even hear me. And, as this whole (albeit mostly
one-sided) conversation coincided with a new series
of the ‘White Gold’ television program, I wonder if the
general public are as aware of how much the industry has
progressed as we’d like to think.
I’d love to hear your thoughts…
Gemma, Editor
4 » A P R 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
A window into
the future
» » NEW RESEARCH FROM
Eurocell plc, the UK’s leading
manufacturer, recycler and
distributor of PVC-U window,
door, conservatory and roofline
systems, has revealed the top
reasons homeowners would
upgrade windows within their
properties. Eurocell’s ‘The Future
Home Report’ draws on the
findings of a survey of 1,000
25-40-year olds that either own
or rent homes, about design and
build considerations for future
homes.
The top reasons homeowners
gave for investing in new windows
in their properties were:
• Improved energy efficiency
(52.40%)
• More natural light in the
home (37.50%)
• Noise reduction (34.90%)
• Because they’re old or broken
(24.80%)
• Security (24.40%)
• Aesthetics (19.40%)
• Improved durability
(9.40%)
Chris Coxon, Group Head
of Marketing at Eurocell,
commented: “The UK is currently
in the middle of a housing crisis
meaning that we need to build
300,000 homes a year for the
next decade. At Eurocell we
wanted to gain insight into what
features and designs consumers
want from their windows so
that these homes can be built
to suit the wants and needs of
consumers. The insights from
this report have done exactly
that, revealing how important
both natural light and technology
are to consumers, and this will
help both Eurocell and the wider
industry inform decisions for
windows in the future.”
The research also looked into
the window design and features
that consumers hope to see in
their future homes and therefore,
what tradespeople can expect to
be installing. 52% of consumers
surveyed said that they would
like to see windows with higher
energy efficiency levels, 29%
would like windows that have the
ability to shade against sunlight,
26% would like to see increased
use of sustainable materials and
almost a quarter of consumers
identified large floor-to-ceiling
windows as their most appealing
design trend. In addition to this,
29% of consumers said that smart
windows, for example windows
that can block the sun, turn into
a mirror, or be used as a smart
screen, are also desirable.
The full Future Home Report
can be downloaded in full here
www.eurocell.co.uk/whitepaper