Meeting Market Needs At Minoli

There is much media focus at the moment regarding issues with planning delays, material scarcity and cost increases, high energy prices and interest rate uncertainty affecting the overall construction industry and especially SME companies in the housebuilding sector.

Whilst a recent article in May by the National House-Building Council (NHBC) highlights a significant Quarter 1 fall in new home registrations vs the same period in 2022, it also paints a more optimistic view of improving market stability and recovery. Despite a slow start to this year, looking at the last full year to date, new home registrations have actually increased to reach the highest annual volume since 2008.

Commenting on this latest data, NHBC CEO Steve Wood said, “Despite a slow start to the year, the new homes market is holding up well, with a 7% rise in new home registrations over the last 12 months. Emerging from the economic shocks of 2022 and getting to grips with a demanding regulatory environment, the data indicates house builders are taking stock, planning their output carefully and matching it to expected demand”.

He went on to note that while output may have slowed, building at a more controlled rate helps drive quality and that despite very real supply side pressures and some stalling in consumer demand, the fundamental health of the market remains.

Contrary to the wider indicators of constricted availability and cost increases of many key building materials, here at Minoli we have taken further steps to uphold the fundamentals of our business model with regard to a strong stockholding of high-grade products and a very competitive price positioning.

Minoli’s latest Core ranges demonstrate how our shrewd sourcing strategy, allied to our longstanding relationships with top-flight production plants, has allowed us to restructure our product offering to our housebuilder and developer clients to represent better value than ever.

Alongside the established and frequently specified series in our existing Core Essentials Collection, we’re introducing 16 new ranges that accord with the quality and creativity that leading housebuilders require, within the cost constraints that prevailing market conditions demand, but without compromise to the overall design intent.

In line with Minoli’s consistent organic growth performance, steadily increasing turnover from our established customer base, new market entry and expanding corporate client accounts have allowed us forward order, bulk buy full production runs and further demonstrate our solidity as the to-market distribution partner of choice. As a result, the success of this long-term strategic plan has enabled us to retain our price positioning from well before and throughout the economic turmoil of recent years.

Linking back to Steve Wood’s comments about controlled output driving quality improvements in property construction, working predominantly with independent housebuilders and developers of high-standard homes as we do, we know that alongside a compelling value proposition and a highly professional team, we stand or fall on the quality and diversity of our product portfolio. We know the needs and expectations our clients, and in turn their homebuying customers, and this is reflected in our carefully compiled and curated collections of floor and wall tiles.

Take for instance the latest additions to our Core Essentials Collection, which are purposefully aligned with the requirements of the development market where budgets may be limited, and value engineering is crucial. Including new designs with stone, marble and concrete-effect finishes, in porcelain and ceramic, plus patterned and décor ranges, they have been all been chosen for design and style aesthetics, but with affordability and durability very much in mind. It’s why we can say with confidence that the Minoli Core Essentials Collection offers ‘Quality & Creativity – Within Cost Constraints but Without Compromise’.

Over the next three weeks we’ll be sharing details of these 16 new series and range extensions, which represent a significant expansion to the Minoli catalogue. With some of these products already prepared for prompt delivery at our centrally located warehouse and distribution centre in Oxford, and others in transit from our production partners in Italy and Spain, we’re sure to soon exceed our UK stockholding of circa £4 million in net cost value. As such, in an industry challenged by constricted supply and spiralling costs, we think we’re well placed to be part of the solution to what appears a rather pervasive problem.