Published On: Fri, Apr 24th, 2020

Deceuninck’s lightbulb moment!

Colour is Deceuninck’s not so secret weapon, says Sales Director Chris Jones. Fabricators who want to grow have to be able to sell colour. Who else can sell them colour from stock?

What does a PVC-U window look like? Many fabricators and installers still see a white window in their mind’s eye. But, increasingly homeowners see colour. The market is rapidly changing, and it’s leaving many fabricators and installers behind. We think of colour as a recent trend, but the buildings in Britain’s towns and cities were once blooming with colour, inside and out. That was before two world wars reduced Britain’s circumstances and left us with a lot of tired timber and peeling paint. Then PVC-U gave Britain a white facelift.

But after 30 years of white, Britons long for a new look. Today, with options like Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, and Dulux, most homeowners want to transform their home with colour. The homeowners spearheading this growth are older (generally over 55) with homes that have appreciated dramatically in the last 20 years. They have the money, and now almost a third of all windows are colour. With increasing colour demand, the market for white is shrinking. Colour is a huge opportunity for fabricators and installers, and those who can’t supply it are missing out. Deceuninck backed the growth of colour early on, investing in a world-class foiling team, advanced foiling machinery and warehousing to house all the profiles in all the colours. We realised, however large the investment and cost to us, we had to keep everything in stock, so customers could order and sell colour as easily and reliably as if it was white. That was our lightbulb moment and implementing it has significantly sharpened Deceuninck’s and our fabricators’ competitive advantage.

We offer 30 colourways from stock (with 20 more colours available on a lead time of just 15 workings days) and – customers say – superb customer service. As important as the right machinery, perfect factory conditions (temperature controlled for foiling), and stringent quality measures, you need highly skilled, experienced people who foil correctly first time, every time. Deceuninck’s Operations Director, Darren Woodcock says: “Without a doubt, it’s down to the team. We have 23 foiling experts from all over the world. Foiling has to be right every time. Our team has been trained in all elements of foiling so they’re checking quality at each step – through the application of primer, adhesion and foil covering.” And everything goes into stock. Deceuninck has put a significant investment into stock, so fabricators who order colour today know they’ll get all the profiles and all the matching cills, end caps, trims and ancillaries they need – on their next delivery. They know it because it’s already in stock, unlike other suppliers who make a large proportion of colour to order or send it away to be foiled. We make it as easy as ordering white profile. And this investment is paying off. By making our customers more competitive they’re able to sell much more colour than the market and their colour sales are soaring. Deceuninck’s top 20 fabricators all sell over 55% colour, compared with the market average of around 28%. MD Mike Parczuk of G19 Fabricator of the Year, Sternfenster, says: “Customer demand is becoming more about the aesthetics of a window. Colour plays a huge part in this and Deceuninck’s colour range, product quality, service and deliveries are very good. Our ability to respond quickly to customers, knowing that whatever we order from Deceuninck will arrive on our next delivery, gives us a big sales advantage.”

Colour is 60% of Deceuninck sales, and that competitive advantage explains why we finished last year 20% up on 2018 in a weak market, and why our sales are strong in the first quarter of 2020. If you want to sharpen your competitive edge and grow in 2020, call me, Chris Jones, on 07808 092 163 and we’ll get you #TooledUpForColour. Visit www.deceuninck.co.uk.