Yet while the past 15 years have allowed the Buckinghamshire business to make a name for itself amongst some of the most discerning designers and style-hungry home renovators , the last 12 months cannot be ignored when speaking to Elizabeth . As such , how has the global pandemic and four enforced lockdowns affected Urban Front ? |
“ I ’ d be lying if I said that we didn ’ t go into panic mode back in March , and at the start of lockdown we had no orders for around two months , but we were extremely busy with enquiries . And , when it came to manufacturing we didn ’ t shut down operations , even for one day . As we manufacture the doors bespoke and everything else around them too , lead times for an order can be three months , so we continued with jobs that were already in production before new orders came in again .
“ In fact , there was no need to panic at all . The last six months have been the busiest we ’ ve ever had and November was our best month ever . So , despite the initial shock last Spring , which I ’ m sure happened to everyone , we are no longer worried when it comes to business . There have been other challenges such as a glass shortage , but we have managed to keep on top of orders .
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“ Throughout the whole pandemic , we have continued to work , although it ’ s been a different way of working . Personally , I am juggling working from home and home schooling two children , like so many others . At work we have had just one team member test positive for Covid and they had not been in close contact with anyone at work when they found out so there was no shut down required . We have been very lucky .”
When asked if there have been any aspects of the ‘ new way of working ’ that Elizabeth and the team will continue to use , she had this to say : “ Of course showrooms have been a bit of a write off this year , and may still be for some time to come . It ’ s very important with our products though that people get a real feel for their size and scale - some of our doors are three-metres tall - and it ’ s hard to get this across on a flat image whether in print or on screen . One benefit for us this
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year , that we might not have considered in the past , was a marketing grant that really helped us up our digital game .
“ We used the budget to make videos about the company featuring myself and Nabil , plus the ‘ anatomy ’ of our products that can all be seen on our website . These feature the type of conversation and communication that you would typically experience in a showroom with an Urban Front expert that would be much harder to convey in a non-digital way .
“ We also commissioned 360 º virtual tours of our showroom , which show every inch of our doors in-situ and have made such a difference to prospective customers , whether homeowners or designers searching for a certain ‘ look ’ or specifiers and architects needing a structural solution to meet the criteria of a build or renovation .
“ There have been inevitable changes to the way we supply products , especially if materials
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are coming in from Europe . Another challenge we ’ re working with at the moment is that it ’ s really hard to find people in the pandemic . By that I mean that we are losing a valued team member and I ’ m finding it very difficult to replace them . We hear of a skills shortage in the industry during ‘ normal ’ times , but at the moment it seems to be even more of a struggle .
“ Overall however , our enquiry levels remain very high and with the extra steps we ’ ve taken during the past year to improve our digital presence , Urban Front remains in an extremely positive position , ready to take on the next three months , six months , twelve months and so on .”
Find out more about the Urban Front story , its portfolio of products , see virtual tours / videos and see more information about the technical side of materials , performance , security , hardware options at : www . urbanfront . com
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