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Editorial
The Slant On Shutters
A few years ago,
as we saw the interior window shutter market beginning to soar we
started asking questions: What is happening? Why? Where is it heading?
It turns out the market just keeps growing because homeowners love
the look and they have many more options to chose from and it’s
going to continue this way for at least the next five years.
In the beginning, it was obvious that the wood blind and shutter
markets were playing off each other—a classic example of a
rising tide raising all boats. In our November 2000 issue (See “Market
Forum,” page 54), Tim Secker of American Hardwood Co. explained
it just so: “One of the significant contributions to the wood
blind craze was the shutter look in the early part of the ’90s
. . . It appears that wood blinds have now returned the favor. The
wood look has introduced many consumers to shutters . . .”
Last year, in our first Special Shutter Supplement the introduction
of new technology in product materials and manufacturing processes
was advanced as an important reason for why the shutter market was
expanding (see “Shutter Outlook 2002,” November 2001,
page 30). Anna Ceolin, brand manger for Hunter Douglas’ Palm
Beach custom shutters wrote: “Advancements in design, materials
and manufacturing techniques have reinvigorated the category so
that a new generation of consumers can enjoy the time-honored look
of shutters.”
This year, we see the tide in the shutter market rising even higher—see
“The Slant on Shutters” beginning on page 51. Further
developments in the industry have given us engineered wood products
with many desirable qualities, real wood shutters precision made
to specifications using computer-driven machinery, vinyl-clad wood
shutters that provide strength, beauty and pricing, and many other
product options besides.
The end result is that the look and function of shutters is available
to many more consumers than ever before. Some will choose from among
an assortment of wood alternative products, while others will look
for certain qualities found only in solid wood shutters. Whichever
is the case, our experts predict the next five years will be a time
for growth—some say phenomenal growth, others say long lasting,
steady and significant. A dealer needs only to choose his market
(or markets) and his supplier (or suppliers) and get to work.
Oh yes, there is one caveat, as shutter installer Nick Christopulos
reminds us: “Any product is only as good as it is installed.”
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