There is a feeling of ‘positivity’ amongst architects regarding the current business climate, according to Reynaers at Home’s national survey of industry trends.
When asked ‘based on your level of business right now, do you feel that your business is doing better than this time last year?’ 73% of architect respondents reportedly answered yes and only 8% said no. A further 20% said they were unsure. This compares to 67% of respondents who felt positive about the business climate in the previous Reynaers at Home survey in 2013.
Marketing manager, Rebecca Cope, said: “Our experience reflects this trend, with a very positive 50% increase in sales for Reynaers at Home in the past year.
“We’ve found that consumers are still prepared to spend money on aluminium doors and windows, but are being more selective. When spending their hard-earned money, they are happy to pay more for a product that is well designed, carefully manufactured and installed by a company that understands the value of customer service.
Despite a general feeling of optimism, the Reynaers at Home survey found there are still a number of industry ‘annoyances’ that remain. Around a third of respondents said compromising a design for planning was a source of frustration, followed by a quarter of architects saying they ‘didn’t have enough time to think’. This has risen since 2013, when 20% of respondents said the same – implying that in the past three years, time has become more stretched.
Having to scale a design concept to budget was pinpointed by 20%. One in 10 of respondents said that locating the materials that they wanted to use within budget was particularly irritating and 6% pointed a finger at ‘tricky’ clients. ‘Difficult’ builders and contractors were named by 5%, while delivering projects within agreed low fees due to the current market was also singled out – as well as ‘a lack of trust and respect’ from clients in the design team.
Rebecca Cope said: “The latest survey has highlighted interesting trends in the market.”
