You can rarely get through a day without hearing about Brexit and, as Grenfell Tower continues to capture the nation’s attention, it’s no wonder there’s been all manner of uncertainty, delay and nervousness across the nation.
But as the Brexit train continues to chug along, we’ve had no choice but to adopt the famously British motto of ‘keep calm and carry on’ until we have a firm idea of the direction of travel.
Despite changeable political and economic conditions, at Howarth we’ve donned our ‘stiff upper lip’ and had a renewed commitment to increasing choice and availability and looking at potential new revenue streams.
We’ve always been firm believers in future-proofing the business, by scaling up our purchasing, increasing our stockholding capacity and improving our operating efficiencies by distributing core products such as loft ladders, engineered flooring and sleepers.
Brexit uncertainty
The only certainty with Brexit is its uncertainty. Whilst we’re taking every opportunity to bolster our stock reserves, the unknown impact of Brexit has been a hard one to prepare for. As it stands, there’s no definitive answer on the process of port clearance and any associated delays, for example, which has impacted the building industry.
The March 29 deadline caused many to stockpile, including us, but it’s simply impossible to prepare for the unknown. Important elements of mitigating uncertainty are choice and a good supply chain so that no one, especially the customer, is backed into a corner.
Whilst we all know it’s about supply and demand, it’s important to remember that the customer is the beginning of it all. Reduced confidence has led to a slowing property market, so homeowners have chosen to renovate rather than move. This has in turn had a positive impact on the sector.
The media’s continued and generally down-beat reporting is also fuelling the fire negatively, but in comparison to the immediate years following the global recession of 2008, the market remains healthy.
Green credentials
While Brexit brings its own challenges, we’re looking beyond ‘the B word’ and are remaining committed to honouring our pledge to be part of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) 2020 accord on biodiversity.
Any timber, doors, sheet material and decking sold by us will be either 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certified by the end of 2020.
This is combined with membership of the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) and the responsible purchasing policy (RPP) commitment to ensure the Howarth supply chain meets the UK government’s sustainability and legality requirements.
As a leading supplier of timber products to the UK market and an early signatory to the TTF purchasing policy, close to 100% of our solid timber is sourced from Europe, while the number is around 20% for sheet materials. In doing so, we deal with established supply networks in countries such as Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Estonia, which are seasoned timber suppliers and are committed to planting multiple trees for every one they cut down.
Doors to new opportunities
Doors continue to be a core category across all price points and we strategically took steps to work with an established network of topend suppliers to cater for the mass market.
A major benefit of working with key suppliers is being able to utilise their R&D departments so trends can be identified in order to accommodate and capitalise on changing patterns in interior design.
Buying behaviours have definitely shifted in recent years, with the internet now playing an increasing role in the buying journey. Currently, it is used primarily as a research function, as customers still prefer to come into a bricks and mortar store to see the doors first-hand and double check value for money before making a purchase.
At this point, this is where Howarth’s commitment to staff training opens opportunities, as our trained staff will talk through why the construction methods and materials used in our high-quality ranges are worth paying a little extra for.
Choice and availability are key with doors as you can do all the research in the world, but it’s only until you’re standing in front of ‘the chosen one’ and see it for what it really is, taking in veneer, figure and overall appearance, that you can be sure you’ve made the right decision.
Whether it’s new build, retrofit, treated, untreated, solid, composite, French or folding, a strong selection is essential.
Price points of doors remain the main focus when it comes to purchasing, with design a close second. Consideration as to the composition of the door is often overlooked, though. However, this shouldn’t be the case as doors with solid cores have been engineered with conditioned products that produce a very stable door.
Suffolk-style doors with a four-inch perimeter and seven-inch bottom are very popular at the moment and account for more than half of internal oak-designed door sales.
Choice also applies to lippings, too. Whilst they are applied to most at the standard 11mm, having some with 18-20mm options will ensure that the structural integrity, or most importantly, design of the door isn’t compromised by any alterations carried out later by the homeowner.
Looking ahead
Social media has been a driving force in the rise of home decorating and renovating projects, especially Pinterest, where it is the third-most-searched category (https://blog. hubspot.com/marketing/pinterest-categories).
This has translated to the vast majority of homeowners wanting a modern and attractive house – and doors now play a major role in this.
According to our housebuilder network, doors, rather than floors, now offer the wowfactor in a new home, especially ones with a walnut finish. To that end, we expect them to continue to grow in popularity.
New trends continue to emerge within the door category, including demand for pre-hung doors, which will allow joiners to install up to 80% faster than traditional doors. This will sit alongside pre-finished and fully lacquered options, which have proven popular too – one in four doors are now purchased this way – as they have a top-end finish and save time and money on decorating.
The positive to take from all of this is, no matter what the result of Brexit, we believe that the timber industry will continue to be one of the most sustainable in the world, even if the politician’s can’t navigate us through the trees and out of the proverbial woods.
