Tesco Windows: Good Or Bad For The Industry?

Everyone is talking about it, so there may as well be a poll gauging whether we all think the introduction of Tesco into the home improvements sector will be a good or bad thing for the industry.


Personally, I'm thinking it could potentially be bad for business. If a giant such as Tesco manages to make a good go of it, and word spreads through to the general public, then this will make trading conditions even tougher.


They are probably going to have an enormous impact though. The company itself makes more profit in a year than what the whole industry is worth in total. They actually generate around £1 billion in sales per week. They are looking to roll their services out nationally, creating a network of approved partners. 


Some businesses may turn their noses up at this. But when you consider the size of the Tesco brand, it's reach to so many customers, the amount of leads a business could receive could be enormous.


Many will probably feel uncomfortable going down that road. There are many well established businesses in our sector that will be unwilling to be sucked into the Tesco business Juggernaut, fearful that their name would be lost in their local area. Pride takes a big stand in business. 


I can see why Tesco have moved into the market. The Government are about to launch their 'Green Deal', and want to be there when the influx of new business arrives. However this is going to put the rest of us at a possible disadvantage, in an already saturated and over-competitive market. The coming months will tell us all we need to know.


This I'm sure will have a big impact on our industry, so whether you think this is good or bad, please vote.


UPDATE: blogger seems to be struggling with all types of polls at the moment. So apologies if your vote hasn't appeared. I am looking to find a solution. In the meantime, I have put the original post back up. While I'm out seeing customers for the next little while, please try voting again to see if the manage to be counted.


UPDATE 2: I've now taken the embedded poll off from the right hand side - it just wasn't working. So, I've given this subject it's own page: Tesco Windows - Poll. You'll find it on the right hand side in the pages section, or just click here.

Doors For £800 to £1000

My most recent poll: How Much Should An Average Door Be Sold For? has finished, and the clear winner, and what most people think is that the average door in this industry should be sold for between £800-£1000. The rest of the results are below:

These are how the results were split:


£400-£600: 12
£600-£800: 3
£800-£1000: 23
£1000+: 5


There were quite a few votes for the £400-£600 option. Personally I don't know how anybody can make a decent wage out of that sort of price. By the time you take out survey costs, material costs and fitting costs, how can a profit be made?


For me, the £800-£1000 group was the right choice. When you take out all of the costs, you should still be able to make a decent profit out of a single door. But I also think there is still a market out there to be able to see doors over £1000. There are some really high quality and premium doors available which when sold in the right way, can easily command a four-figure sum.


Price is one of the biggest issues facing the double glazing industry right now. There are debates going on as we speak about how companies should be raising their prices to make a decent profit margin, reflecting the high quality of many of the products being sold.

How Much Should The Average Door Be Sold For?

The issue of pricing has become a hot topic in recent weeks, with many saying that we sell our goods and services too cheaply. I've said in a previous post that a good quality 3x3 Victorian conservatory should be selling for around the £10K mark. But this is a big ticket item which isn't selling in the bucket loads. So I thought I'd gauge opinion on what people think a door should be sold for this year. So I've added a poll!


My personal opinion is that a standard white composite door should be coming in the £800-£1000 mark. If the door is sold with fancy glass and additional features then we should all be able to sell doors for over £1000. After all, companies have worked tirelessly to improve security and quality on doors, why can't we command a better selling price?


Comments and thoughts appreciated.

Synseal Come Out On Top

Over the Christmas break my poll on who is the best profiler came to an end, and Synseal was picked as who you think was best. WHS Halo came in second and Spectus came third. It would be interesting to know who people voted for and why. Comments are welcome!

Let's Do This Properly!

Last time I did this I was getting systems companies and manufacturers all mixed up. So I'm doing it properly. The simple question I put to you is this: Based on product quality, service, reputation and price, who is the best profiles company?

The choices (and there are more this time!):

Aluplast
Deceuninck
Duraflex
Eurocell
HL Plastics (Liniar)
KBE
Kommerling
LB Plastics
Profile 22
Rehau
SAPA (aluminium only)
Selecta
Spectus
Swish
Synseal
Veka
WHS Halo

I'll leave the poll on till the end of the year, and we'll see who comes out on top!

My Poll

In the end, the poll, as the graph shows, was completely off the mark in terms of what the actual result of the election was:

Can you imagine if this was the real result!

Votes So Far

At the minute my poll is showing that Labour and the Green Party have recieved the most of the few votes that have been cast. What did get me thinking though is how the double glazing industry would get along with a Green Government.

Would they support investment into PVCu recyling? Would they be interested in pushing the benefits of energy rated windows? Or would they hit out at the PVC industry because of our heavy reliance on the use of oil to make the PVC polymers?

I think they would do both. I think they would support us in our efforts to make energy efficient windows carry a 5% or 0% VAT rate. And I think they could also provide some sort of grant scheme to help boost the industry. But I also think they would put money into finding better, more sustainable ways of producing the polymers required to make PVCu windows and doors.

But, that alone wouldn't get my vote. Economically they aren't experienced, and their other policies don't inspire me with confidence.

WHS Halo & Sysneal Make The Best Window

The poll 'Who Makes The Best Window' has finished and WHS Halo and Synseal got the most of the few votes that were cast:

Because the poll didn't raise all that many votes, there are too many discrepancies to say that either Halo or Synseal is the industry's favourite. I was wondering to just keep the poll on indefinately to try and receive as many votes as possible.

On the other hand I might find another subject to create a poll about!

Who Makes The Best Window?

This hopefully is a simple answer producing question (but probably won't be!), who makes the best window?

Take into account aesthetics, energy efficiency, product quality and cost. Leave your opinions as comments and vote on the poll on the right hand side.

My vote goes to WHS Halo and their Rustique profile.

The full list (and in no particular order!):

1. WHS Halo
2. Swish
3. Rehau
4. Eurocell
5. Plastmo
6. Profile 22
7. Synseal
8. Liniar
9. Spectus
10. Kommerling
11. Veka
12. Sash
13. Deceunink

If I have missed any off let me know!