Sales heat up during lockdown for boiler installer
Leeds-based boiler installer, BOXT, delivered £26m of turnover in the year ending 31 March 2020 and is now targeting an increase to more than £50m this year.
The firm reports its sales were up 75% year on year in the first two weeks of June. It witnessed a 25% jump year on year in sales of voice-controlled boilers through its online platform in the period from the beginning of lockdown in the UK to the end of April.
Andy Kerr, co-founder of BOXT, said: “With March being a key month for boiler sales, we had concerns about how business might play out when Coronavirus started to take a firm grip on the UK.
“However as soon as lockdown was announced, our ecommerce model and platform really came into its own and gave us a solid foundation with which to react. The rate of sales was unprecedented.
“Our technology was designed very specifically to streamline the quotation and booking process to make it so simple for the consumer, it would remove the antiquated and time consuming sales technique of having a surveyor come into your home first to quote for the job – which has paid dividends at a time when people are very rightly concerned about having tradespeople in their homes.
“We set up a dedicated 24/7 telephone number for those who needed the additional security of talking directly to someone to make their booking, completed personalised risk assessments prior to installation, and ensured next-day priority installation for the over 70s and ‘at-risk’ when they booked before 3pm.
“We also shifted to single visit installations with a solo installer where possible to further reduce the possibility of human contact in a bid to reduce the risk of infection.”
Since the business was launched in 2017, it has broadened its installation offerings into residential air conditioning, electric vehicle chargers and has additional smart home packages in the pipeline.
A partnership with energy giant EDF in January 2020 to offer EDF’s gas customers the opportunity to purchase energy efficient boilers formed part of a significant expansion programme by the firm, which achieved a turnover of £20m in its first full year of trading.
It also follows a significant deal with Google in June 2019 – allowing BOXT to become the first national business to offer voice-controlled heating systems as standard.
Kerr added: “Home installation is ripe for disruption. Over the next six to 12 months we feel confident that we’re on a strong trajectory to continue bucking the trend of the market, achieving double digit year on year growth.
The company was founded in Leeds by former executive directors of boiler installation specialist Help-Link, Mel Butler and Andy Kerr, along with Keith Jones the former managing director of Wolseley’s Plumb Center.
The business has raised £10m since launch, with a significant investment coming from Robert Bosch, the owners of the Worcester Bosch boiler brand, whose products are among those offered by BOXT.
