MARGIN Builders By Tom Leahy
Don’t forget fencing! Stocking strategies for g ing t a gins of today s fic le economic landscape, one thing holds true Americans are spending more time and money than ever before commissioning building professionals to create design-centric outdoor living spaces. In an industry brea down of the most sought-after products, the fence a once overloo ed element of an outdoor living space has become the rising star of the bac yard e uation. A fence can not only extend a homeowner s personal design aesthetic to the property line, but also offers a needed privacy solution amid the newfound desire to revive underappreciated bac yard living spaces.
A
Underscoring this trend, the chief economist at Porch.com has trac ed a increase in fence installation services over the last year. In addition to a meteoric rise in fencing pro ects, a ouzz study reported a yearover-year ump in searches for dec , patio and porch professionals, with a sharp uptic in dec ing and railing installations. In short, Americans fervor for outdoor home improvement has hit a historically high level and shows no signs of slowing down. So, that poses the uestion, is the channel prepared to meet the continued demand for outdoor living products in
MIXED MATERIALS: Fortress Estate ornamental privacy fencing combines classic ornamental steel fencing with wood or composite pickets. (Photos by Fortress Building Products)
12
n Building Products Digest n February 2021
Prepare for increased demand in outdoor living product categories to win customers. he country s burgeoning interest in outdoor home improvement caught many dealers and distributors at footed in the first half of . Some were left emptyhanded or pressed to pay a premium to stoc their yard, as existing inventory uic ly cleared. Admittedly, it was unnerving to purchase product amid a volatile economic climate. owever, it was our experience that those who had su cient inventory in stoc saw it move. Ahead of prime building season, dealers and distributors can move forward with confidence by evaluating their stoc ing strategies. Preparation is ey to not only handle the in ux in demand, but to also win over customers in today s competitive maretplace. his includes stoc ing product for the entire bac yard pac age, and with it, fencing solutions. For example, if a customer wal s onto a dealer yard to purchase dec ing and railing product but isn t able to complete the bac yard build with fencing, they will spend their money at the lot down the street. We can t stress this enough don t let customers wal away. Introduce products with familiar value propositions to stay ahead of the competition Because fencing has gained heavy traction across the outdoor living category, we recommend stoc ing this product ahead of pea building season. Building-Products.com
