Premium offerings stand out in a tough market. So it’s more important than ever to make sure your customers have the choices they want, explains Quickslide’s Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swallow.
It’s hard to find any sector right now that’s not affected by rising energy prices and the cost of living crisis. Particularly when it comes to windows and doors: in the current economic climate the lower end of the market
is struggling, with homeowners holding off financing home improvements and instead using what savings they may have earmarked for these to pay their bills instead.
Those who do have the finance to continue with planned improvements will understandably be more cautious, and, it can be expected, more discerning than ever.
“This is especially true in the heritage windows market,” says Quickslide’s Sales and Marketing Director Tom Swallow. “Homeowners in these properties tend to have larger houses and the accompanying higher bills. They also have more demanding aesthetic considerations. Often they’re replacing replacement windows, perhaps replacing casements with sash windows to restore the property’s traditional looks.
“It’s a hard considered purchase at the best of times and even more so now, and these customers are looking to maximise performance as well as aesthetic in style and colour. That’s why we’ve launched additional colour options in our window range, including exclusive dual foils for our vertical sliders.”
Foiling and new colours
Quickslide has recently increased its in-house foiling capacity by 30%, including the addition of a brand new 18,500ft2 dedicated foiling facility which enables them to bring out more new colourways quickly as trends change. The latest range of colour options has been informed by Quickslide’s trade partners, who were surveyed to discover which dual colours and foil finishes could have the greatest sales potential in the next 12 to 24 months.
“Our trade partners know what they want to sell, and we want to make sure we provide it. Based on what they’ve told us we now offer dual colours for VS, available in exterior/interior combinations of grey woodgrain/heritage white and agate grey/heritage white. We’ve also included a white woodgrain/smooth white option for VS from stock as well as launching smooth grey available across the entire Deceuninck range,” says Tom.
“What is clear is that our partners find foiled finished an easy upsell to customers. Homeowners are looking for heritage windows that offer more, which is why we need to make sure we can provide the latest colour offerings. Having in-house foiling gives us the capability to do this and react quickly to market changes, and now with our move to this dedicated and expanded facility we can do that even more efficiently and cost effectively. We also offer our colour-bonding service for bespoke colours.”
Performance is key
When it comes to vertical sliders, fabricators face an additional challenge to get full compliance at the same level as casement windows while retaining the classic heritage looks. Which is why Quickslide were quick to get involved in developing their own vent solution exclusive to their Legacy VS when the new Building Regulation requirements to improve airflow and reduce condensation were introduced.
It means Quickslide’s welded vertical sliders of more than 1055mm in width can now uniquely carry 12,000 EA in a single window – meeting all the revised ventilation requirements for not just England, Wales but also Scotland, which has introduced the toughest measures.
“All homeowners want to know their windows are performing at the top of their game. But in addition, homeowners paying a premium for sash windows over casement windows will naturally be even more concerned with appearance, particularly if the windows are going into a heritage property,” says Tom.
“That’s why we’ve introduced our additional colour options and expanded our in-house foiling capability to ensure we continue to offer what the market wants.”
Because when it comes to heritage windows, it’s not just about ensuring value for money and energy performance. Premium products stand out in a tough market, and premium means offering more than value and efficiency, which should be taken as read across the price points.
www.quickslide.co.uk
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