New Year Message from our MD, Sam Nuckey

Despite the massive disruption caused by coronavirus last year, the window industry bounced back strongly after lockdown.

Now that 2020 is finally behinds us, the question many in our industry are asking is ‘how long will this last?’

Is it a temporary phenomenon that will start to tail off in the early part of 2021? Or does it reflect a permanent shift in consumer behaviour?

Personally, I think the best way of understanding it is as an acceleration of a trend that had already been picking up pace for several years now.

Once, people looked at windows, doors and other home improvement products in mostly practical terms – they wanted something that was affordable, and that worked. Since the turn of the millennium, driven in part by the rise of aspirational TV shows like Channel 4’s Grand Designs, that’s changed. Now people are much more discerning. They want quality products that reflect their own sense of style, and suit the look and feel of their homes and the surrounding areas.

In my view, coronavirus is only going to reinforce that trend. Even when the pandemic is over, I suspect that many more of us will be working from home than ever before – which is only going to increase demand for garden offices, loft conversions, rear extensions, and, more generally, home environments that are more pleasant to spend time in.

At Window Ware, we’ve worked extremely hard to supply hardware from the industry’s leading brands throughout the challenges that 2020 posed – and we’ve been delighted to see so many enjoying success after what we know has been an extremely stressful period.

Even with the recent announcement of a 3rd lockdown, we’re confident that 2021 will be a positive one for them and the rest of our industry – but regardless how it turns out, we’ll be here doing our utmost to support the brilliant businesses we work with.