What’s Jeff Randall got to do with plantation shutters I hear you ask.
I happened to be watching his programme on Sky news yesterday evening when he interviewed the CEO of furniture giant DFS, whose profits have risen 17% despite the economic slump and poor housing market in particular.
The CEO explained that the excellent performance was as a result of targeting areas of the country where DFS didn’t have a presence and also broadening their customer base by offering new products.
The other interesting factor he mentioned was shorter lead times for items such as sofas and living and dining room furniture which was now being made in Britain, as opposed to the Far East.
This struck a chord with me, as only at the weekend, I read a newspaper article on General Electric in the US and their new strategy of “Reshoring”, ie bringing previously outsourced production back to the United States.
This is of particular relevance to my own sector, plantation shutters.
The vast majority of plantation shutters sold in the UK are imported from China with typical lead times of 6-8 weeks.
Here at Shutterplus, we sell all the wooden components and hardware required for building plantation shutters, and since the turn of the year, the level of interest in our products from joineries and workshops has been striking.
Here’s an article on the DFS story http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/357325/Demand-for-hand-built-in-Britain-boosts-DFS
Hugo Clancy.
Shutterplus News 