Cordless Canada: Window Treatments 6 Months Later

Summary

Initial Impacts

It has been 6 months since Health Canada officially adopted their sweeping new regulations on cords and chains for window treatments within Canada. The entire window treatment industry was thrust into chaos as manufacturers scrambled to replace some of the most popular window treatments with mechanisms that complied with the new rules. Household favourites like faux wood blinds and roman shades disappeared from the shelves overnight, leaving some customers frustrated by the minimal selection that remained.

Manufacturer Response

This situation did not last long, however, as manufacturers quickly got to work bringing new designs to the market. Faux wood blinds and roman shades were reworked to remove non-compliant cords from their designs. The two strings that once held up top-down/bottom-up cellular shades have now been replaced with a layer of sheer fabric that covers the previously open part of the window above the opaque or light filtering fabric. The standard chain and cord controls that were once attached to most shades and blinds have now been replaced with wands, cranks, and concealed chains.

The New Normal

Thus, we have now arrived at the new normal for window treatments in Canada. The products that are sold today will largely be the same products that are sold a year from now, five years from now, and perhaps even a decade from now as well, although there will certainly be some new innovations introduced during that time.

Analysis

So, given that this is the new normal, how has the implementation of these new regulations impacted the window treatment sector in Canada?

Improved Safety

First, and most importantly, the new regulations were introduced to improve the overall safety of window treatments in residential buildings, keeping children and pets safe. This goal has been achieved with the most dangerous designs now completely removed from the market. While this has come at the expense of some products that did not pose a genuine risk to anyone’s health, this overzealousness will ensure that safety standards are not easily circumvented by unsafe products.

Reduction of Options

It is undoubtedly true that the new regulations have reduced the breadth of options available to window treatment shoppers in Canada. Some products simply cannot be sold anymore, and the more niche function that these products filled, the more difficult it is to replace them with an equivalent product that customers will be happy with. However, for the most part, popular window treatments have been updated or replaced with similar products in order to comply with these requirements. This means that you should be able to find the products that you’re looking for in most circumstances.

Parts & Repairs

The most negative effect of these regulations has been their impact on blind repairs and the provision of parts to existing blinds and shades. With many old blind and shade models going out of production, many people are losing access to the ability to repair their shades and blinds. Without the specific parts necessary to replace existing components, customers will be forced to choose between shelling out for a new product and putting up with whatever defects the current one may have. From the point of view of reducing waste and helping Canadians save money, this is rather counterproductive.

Higher Prices?

Measuring price increases associated with the change in regulations is a difficult task considering that they were introduced to us in the midst of rapidly rising inflation and greater than usual price increases. However, by examining the way in which the prices of different products have grown over the past year, there is little evidence that these changes made a significant impact on the cost of most window treatments. While there are specific window treatments where prices did rise dramatically as a result of these changes, such as sun-up/sun-down cellular shades being much more expensive than top-down/bottom-up cellular shades as a result of the additional fabric required, these were the exceptions as opposed to any sort of general trend. For the most part, these regulations have not significantly affected prices.

Growth of Motorization

At the time that these regulations were first introduced, motorization was already a well established and growing segment of the window treatment industry. The luxurious convenience of motorized control systems was winning over a lot of customers, though many still baulked at the price increase associated with the switch. Since standard chain controls have been removed from the market, however, motorization has become an even more tempting option. No need to deal with the slightly more complicated manual control systems when a convenient alternative already exists. As such, motorization has seen a significant uptick in growth caused by the elimination of one of its key former rivals.

Loss of Convenience

As mentioned in our analysis of the growth of motorization, one of the key impacts of these new regulations has been to reduce the overall level of convenience available in window treatments. While it was easy enough for manufacturers to replace the classic chain loop controls on blinds and shades with concealed chains, cranks, and pump systems, these systems are neither as elegant nor as easy to use as the old chain systems were.

Conclusion

Impact on Dealers

The initial impact of the new regulations on dealers was to temporarily disrupt business by removing many of the most popular window treatments from the market all at the same time. This unavoidable disruption was difficult to work around and led to disappointment for some customers. New products that previously competed with the temporarily discontinued ones gained in popularity as they became the only options available to fill certain niches. The lasting impact, however, is an increase in motorization sales, fewer options available for solving niche window treatment problems, and having to explain to customers searching for those options why they are no longer available. On the other hand, the regulations do mean that we can be confident that all our products are built to the highest of safety standards in the world, which is an important benefit.

Impact on Customers

For many customers, the impacts of the new regulations will go unnoticed, as window treatment shopping is not a frequent activity. Thus, changes in the available products are expected between visits. Since most customers are looking for the best window covering for a particular situation or aesthetic, rather than for a particular type of window covering, the experience of purchasing window treatments now is entirely the same. However, for those customers who were looking for a particular type of window treatment that has now been discontinued, window treatment shopping typically starts off with disappointment. While it can be tempting to continue searching for a different store that will sell you the product, this effort will end up being futile, as the regulations are in place nationwide. This means that these customers will be forced to look into other options or decide to give up on upgrading their window treatments entirely. Customers seeking to match existing window treatments or to find parts to repair the ones they have will likely face the greatest disappointment in this regard, as acquiring a matching set of window treatments would require purchasing an entire new set, rather than a single blind or shade. However, on the positive side, customers can have full confidence that their window treatments will not pose any risk to pets or young children.