This is great news for the company and will set us fair for the rest of the year. April sales were the second best ever and the best since the 2008 banking collapse.

The pattern of sales in the conservatory business is largely predictable, at least the pattern of enquiries is; January is always the best month. I think that after Christmas people must ask themselves “What can I do with the house this year?” It’s a bit like “Where shall we go on our holiday this year?” Anyway for whatever reason January is the peak month for enquiries. After that it falls steadily during the year with December being the slowest month.

January is therefore all important and we knew that this January had been better than any previous January (bar none) for new enquiries. In normal times we would have been confident that this would be a bumper year. However since the recession (and now a double dip!) we, like all businesses, don’t trust the old patterns and only believe things are going well when the order is actually in our hand.

We needn’t have worried. Record enquiries indeed seem to be turning into record orders despite the double dip. Are we returning to a more predictable world?

I doubt it!

We recently carried out a survey of our past customers by sending out a questionnaire both online and by letter. To encourage people to take part we organised a draw for a case of champagne and everyone who replied was entered. This was no ordinary case of champagne but a hand picked assortment. Our production director is French and a champagne lover. When he went to France over the Easter break, he selected the bottles from among his favourites.

The lucky winners were Mr & Mrs Moy from Oxfordshire pictured above with one of the bottles. They had a garden room from us which was completed in April last year and they are delighted with the result.

As for the survey it showed that 99.2% of our customers who responded thought the finished product was either Good, Very Good or Excellent. As you can imagine with a building project the process does not always run smoothly and not every customer is happy every step of the way, even so, our survey showed 94.7% rated the overall experience into one of these categories. We are delighted with this result as the industry as a whole does not have the best of reputations.

What is the difference between a conservatory and an orangery? This is often the first question we are asked. It is obvious to us in the business, but surprisingly hard to describe, and the way it is used by the trade today is different from the original meaning.

Then comes the next question “which will be best for our project”? Again this does not always have a simple answer. It very much depends on your property, and what you want to use the extension extension for.

Below is a conservatory, characterised by large areas of glass both to the walls and the roof. In this. Conservatories are usually separated from the house, and used as sunrooms to relax and enjoy the garden.Below again is an orangery. It is a more substantial structure with pilasters and posts breaking up the glass walling. The roof is typically about sixty percent glazed, with one or more lantern roofs. The perimeter of flat roof usually has lighting inset into it. What is created is a more substantial extension often opened up to the house and used as a kitchen, dining room or living area.

The passing of a year is marked by many milestones from Christmas and Birthdays to the more prosaic. On this occasion it is the annual Audit meeting to sign off the accounts. Generally, not the most exciting of anniversaries, but on this occasion a celebration as we will be publishing our best results for several years. Finally shaking off the aftermath of the recession our turnover is back to 2008 levels and net profit is once again in the black. It has been a challenging three years, and many of our competitors (including several major ones) have left the scene. So to be still standing and back in profit with an increased market share is after all something to celebrate.

The week before it was Mother’s Day, guess next is Easter?……………..

Not the best news for this sector. The building industry as a whole was lobbying for a reduction of VAT on property extensions (new buildings are already zero rated). The argument was that this would help kick start construction which remains subdued after the 2008 crash. Clearly that one was lost and the imposition of VAT on alterations to listed buildings will have the opposite effect – tending to slow construction activity. I notice that the notes accompanying the budget say that this will have a minimal macroeconomic effect. I suppose that may be true but it will affect the conservatory industry.

In the short term it will bring a boost to sales as clients rush to beat the October 1st dead line. We are already seeing this in our sales for March. So every cloud…………

I am lucky to have started this business in such a beautiful part of the country. Within a few minutes drive from the factory there are the Somerset levels with many nature reserves and teaming with wildlife. Tonight was the most fabulous sunset and I can see Jupiter and Venus from my window as I type this………

Rustic Oak Framed Buildings made from heavy oak sections and left to weather down naturally are increasing in popularity especially in rural settings. Below is a sample double spread from the new brochure which is still “under construction”…….

Enquiries have been higher than expected this year and our supplies of printed brochures are running out fast. The race is on to design and produce a new conservatory brochure before that happens.

We have decided on a new landscape format at A4+ size and the first mock ups look stunning. This time we have decided to drop the grey corporate colour for a clean off-white uncoated paper, with a super quality feel.

The photography is almost there so the next task is writing the copy……Oh well more late nights.

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Chris Fielden on Google Plus

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