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Continuing Demand for LPG Gas Patio Heaters

Lisa Bean, managing director of patio heater manufacturer Sierra Leisure Products Ltd, explains that, although sales of LPG gas patio heaters in the domestic market have dramatically fallen away, demand in the restaurant, pub and bar sector is still holding up well.

Even before all this talk of doom and gloom in the economy, Sierra’s sales of heaters in the domestic market had fallen away as a result of the vast numbers of lower priced imported heaters that flooded the market.
Sierra does, however, continue to sell to a sector of the domestic market that requires a genuine high quality patio heater that is built to order and can be customised to match exterior furnishings. These are customers who have luxury houses and estates with plenty of space for outdoor entertaining.

Sierra always delivers these heaters personally as we like to set them up and give guidance on their use, and it’s also interesting and inspiring to see some of these amazing properties. One of our recent sales was to a famous female celebrity who needed a heater for her penthouse balcony in the centre of London, and her identity was to remain a secret. My dad, Chris Mittell, insisted on doing the delivery. I think he was hoping it would be Kylie Minogue! It wasn’t her, but he still came back with a big smile on his face – although I’m still not allowed to reveal who she was!

Commercial LP Gas Heaters

It’s the commercial market that we have always found to be better suited to us. During the weekend in particular, it is essential that all the LPG heaters outside a restaurant, bar or pub are working and the bottles of gas are full. If they aren’t, a substantial amount of business can be lost, especially in the colder winter months.

With the no smoking bans that were introduced into the Republic of Ireland in March 2004, Scotland in March 2006, Wales and Northern Ireland in April 2007 and England in July 2007, it was even more imperative for our leisure market customers to purchase high quality outdoor heaters that could endure genuine all year round use and would not let them down. Providing a warm and comfortable outdoor area has proved to be a crucial factor when targeting smoking customers.

It is noticeable, however, that although our sales numbers are holding up, it tends to be the bigger groups that are doing the buying. With news of the large numbers of businesses in this sector closing on a daily basis, it’s not surprising that sales patterns have changed to some extent.

Our sales tend to be to customers that already have experience of LPG gas patio heaters. They have previously experimented with quartz electric heaters and found them to be expensive to run and of limited use. They already know how many extra covers can be accommodated from each heater and understand that the running costs, albeit with rising gas prices, are relatively insignificant compared to the revenues generated from their correct use.

Companies like The Capital Pub Company and Costa Coffee have a clear strategy of using Sierra gas heaters in their many premises in the London area, and are methodical working to install the most suitable forms of gas heating into them.

We find that all situations are different and, in most cases, we prefer to send one of our sales consultants to visit the proposed site and make recommendations as to which heating system would be best suited. In some situations, our mobile heater is the most convenient option, but other customers may prefer to have the heaters permanently installed and, for situations where space is limited, we offer overhead and bracketed heaters.

We remain optimistic about the future. Outdoor gas heating is still very much the preferred option and dad is still waiting for that call from Kylie!

Pictured Above: Spirit® E-310™, Summit® E-650™, Genesis® E-310™

Contact Sierra Leisure Products Ltd on 01473 735773 www.patioheatersdirect.co.uk

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