Is now a good time to get into the home renovation industry?
Cara Squires, writer
Despite turbulence and uncertainty in other areas of the economy, the statistics are very clear: the KBB market is booming!
Want to start your own kitchen and bathroom renovation business?
It’s an exciting and dynamic industry full of opportunity for people from all manner of backgrounds who are looking to tap into a very lucrative market. As 2022 starts, there is a real sense of optimism in the air at last, and a lot of ambitious people are looking to this year to be the one where they finally make the move to a rewarding new career. If you are one of those people, no doubt you are looking for a sector that can offer you a stable income and significant return on your investment – especially with so much uncertainty in most areas of the economy.
A home renovation franchise could be exactly what you’re looking for. Not only does franchising with an established brand offer you a unique route into business ownership but the kitchen and bathroom renovation market, in particular, keeps going from strength to strength.
How we see our homes has never been so important
Back when the first lockdown hit in March 2020 and in the long months after, many in the industry wondered what this would mean for their businesses. Like many other sectors, we were bracing for a massive downturn but, though things slowed for a few months, it just didn’t happen. Quite the contrary in fact!
According to Trend-Monitor’s The Post-Covid Trend Map for the UK Home Improvement Sector, this is because CoVID merely accelerated certain consumer trends that were already happening, and one of the biggest of these is how people see their homes. With so many people forced to stay at home during the pandemic, and kitchens in particular doubling up as work spaces and classrooms, they became even more aware of the important roles certain rooms play in their lives.
Suddenly, making sure your home was at the heart of your life, and that it looked and felt exactly right, was even bigger business than before. Many companies like Granite & TREND Transformations saw sales rocket and the market has continued to be more buoyant ever since.
Looking after your home is a trend that is very much here to stay!
Customer spend is still going up
According to a recent report by kbbreview, around 77% of businesses in our sector have reported an increase in the average customer spend over the last 12 months (2021), with an incredible 16% of customers spending £40,000 or more on their kitchens alone.
It’s clear that homeowners are not shy about spending money on their homes. Of course, this is to do with their own personal desire to live in a more beautiful home but there is also the booming property market to thank. Rightmove reports that 2021 was the busiest year on record for house sales, with house values continuing to rise.
Homeowners want to stay competitive and get the best possible price if they go to market, and having a beautiful looking kitchen or bathroom plays a huge role in valuation. Not only can a recently renovated kitchen or bathroom add as much as 6% to the value of a home, the 2021 Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report revealed that outdated décor, or a dirty-looking kitchen or bathroom, could knock tens of thousands of pounds off the asking price.
Sales at Granite & TREND Transformations are up too!
Sales in December 2021 were up 26% on the previous year, with some of our best performing franchises seeing between 30-40% year-on-year sales increase compared to 2021, with the top 3 far exceeding £1million in invoiced revenue.
2020 was, or course, a difficult year for many but Granite & TREND Transformations actually reported higher sales during that year, with a 27% YoY increase in the third quarter alone. As a result, 2021’s figures represent so much more than just a “post-pandemic bounce back” – they’re indicative of a buoyant and booming market and a franchise that is exceeding expectations right across the board.
Standing out in a busy marketplace
With these kind of stats, starting your own home renovation business is certainly a very attractive prospect. If you want to get involved, a great place to start is our online guide: 5 Steps to Starting your own Home Improvement Business.
However, before you dive in, you also need to be aware that this is a very busy marketplace and there are always a great number of pitfalls along the way when starting your own business. Which is why we would like to invite you to join us!
The Granite & TREND Transformations franchise offers you not only a tried and tested business model which can give you an unbeatable head start, but also a truly unique range of products that are unmatched in the home renovation sector. By having the backing of a globally-recognised brand and offering something few others can, you can hit the ground running and always stay well ahead of the competition.
You don’t even have to have any experience in the home renovation industry to succeed with a Granite & TREND Transformations franchise, as our training and support will give you everything you need. So, if you have the skills and drive needed to manage your own business and the ambition to build a successful company with huge growth potential, we would love to hear from you!
Cara Squires, writer