Blinds & Shutters - Issue 2-2023
As I write this it seems as if the Government has reached an agreement with the EU regarding trading arrangements with Northern Ireland. This seems long overdue and let’s hope it doesn’t led to a two tier system within the UK and it gets through Parliament.
Also energy prices are still high on the agenda and decisions are being made as we speak on whether there will still be any financial help from the Government. Industry does not seem to be talked about as much as consumers, but if the Government really want to control inflation, energy prices have to come down for prices not to continue rising. It’s a tough time for everyone in the UK, I hope it ‘s not going to get any harder for industry.
John Hatcher, Editor
As I write this it seems as if the Government has reached an agreement with the EU regarding trading arrangements with Northern Ireland. This seems long overdue and let’s hope it doesn’t led to a two tier system within the UK and it gets through Parliament.
Also energy prices are still high on the agenda and decisions are being made as we speak on whether there will still be any financial help from the Government. Industry does not seem to be talked about as much as consumers, but if the Government really want to control inflation, energy prices have to come down for prices not to continue rising. It’s a tough time for everyone in the UK, I hope it ‘s not going to get any harder for industry.
John Hatcher, Editor
PROFILE Quick on their feet markilux says the ability to rethink and act quickly is a necessity today The business year 2022 proved once more to be a very challenging one for markilux, a year in which flexible and strategically sensible corrections to the company’s course were required. The corona virus has been with us for three years now. Moreover, the war in Ukraine has precipitated the current energy crisis and high inflation which has resulted in a significant cooling of the consumer climate in Germany. And naturally that has had an effect on markilux, too. Sales in 2022 were thus lower than originally anticipated at around 126 million euros. Nevertheless, the awning manufacturer is still satisfied with the results of the financial year, given the circumstances. Looking to the future, the company anticipates continued growth in the medium term and, in doing so, intends to align its activities even more closely with the current market situation. "For some time now, we have been experiencing daily business as a succession of hurdles. The impression you get is that as the impact of one crisis on the business slowly diminishes, you find that the next one is already just around the corner. In times like these, you have to be prepared for the unforeseeable. This has not made it easy to plan ahead," comments Klaus Wuchner, Director of Sales and Marketing at markilux. Satisfied with sales under the current circumstances Politically and economically, the environment has been difficult for three years now. And that is challenging both for the staff and the manufacturing facility because they have had to become increasingly flexible and adaptable. The ability to rethink and act quickly has thus become a must for the awning specialist. In the first two years of the pandemic, for example, the company had to cope with large increases in volume and sales, which, as a result of the war in Ukraine, did not carry on into the second quarter of 2022. “Sales last year were thus lower than expected. So, taking the current circumstances into consideration, we are still 12 Blinds & Shutters • ISSUE TWO 2023 continues on page 14
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PROFILE<br />
Quick on their feet<br />
markilux says the<br />
ability to rethink<br />
and act quickly is a<br />
necessity today<br />
The business year 2022 proved once more<br />
to be a very challenging one for markilux, a<br />
year in which flexible and strategically<br />
sensible corrections to the company’s course were<br />
required.<br />
The corona virus has been with us for three<br />
years now. Moreover, the war in Ukraine has<br />
precipitated the current energy crisis and high<br />
inflation which has resulted in a significant cooling<br />
of the consumer climate in Germany. And naturally<br />
that has had an effect on markilux, too. Sales in<br />
2022 were thus lower than originally anticipated at<br />
around 126 million euros. Nevertheless, the awning<br />
manufacturer is still satisfied with the results of the<br />
financial year, given the circumstances. Looking to<br />
the future, the company anticipates continued<br />
growth in the medium term and, in doing so,<br />
intends to align its activities even more closely with<br />
the current market situation.<br />
"For some time now, we have been experiencing<br />
daily business as a succession of hurdles. The<br />
impression you get is that as the impact of one<br />
crisis on the business slowly diminishes, you find<br />
that the next one is already just around the corner.<br />
In times like these, you have to be prepared for the<br />
unforeseeable. This has not made it easy to plan<br />
ahead," comments Klaus Wuchner, Director of<br />
Sales and Marketing at markilux.<br />
Satisfied with sales under the<br />
current circumstances<br />
Politically and economically, the environment has<br />
been difficult for three years now. And that is<br />
challenging both for the staff and the manufacturing<br />
facility because they have had to become<br />
increasingly flexible and adaptable. The ability to<br />
rethink and act quickly has thus become a must for<br />
the awning specialist. In the first two years of the<br />
pandemic, for example, the company had to cope<br />
with large increases in volume and sales, which, as a<br />
result of the war in Ukraine, did not carry on into<br />
the second quarter of 2022. “Sales last year were<br />
thus lower than expected. So, taking the current<br />
circumstances into consideration, we are still<br />
12 <strong>Blinds</strong> & <strong>Shutters</strong> • ISSUE TWO <strong>2023</strong><br />
continues on page 14
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