Month In Review: March

March has been a strange month. All guns blazing at the start, but as Easter drew closer, things got slightly quieter. We don't seem to have suffered much however. The fitting schedules still look healthy, lead levels are as they should be for this time of year and we're not sat around twiddling our thumbs!

There's no doubt that the hot topic this month has been the state of the conservatory industry. Some have said that the conservatory market is a dying one, and that we probably will never see the levels of sales like we did in 2004. Some on the other hand have been proclaiming record months for sales of conservatories. But there is one figure that sticks in my mind to contradict this. A reduction to 100,000 installations last year, from 270,000 in 2004 is enormous.

The health of the conservatory market has prompted some to consider their position in the sector. Some have left comments saying that they are thinking of stopping selling conservatories altogther. Some companies will follow through on their thoughts and leave the market. The future doesn't seem bright for conservatories and their installation numbers will probably fall until the general public give up on the idea altogther. Not very positive I know, but based on the stats and what people have said, it's hard to see any positivity for the market.