For UK door importer PM Mendes International Limited, the impact of the Iran war is being felt not on a battlefield, but in freight schedules, supplier calls and the company’s bottom line.
Speaking on the BBC TV documentary Panorama, Lucy Fleming, the managing director and owner of PM Mendes, said the conflict had disrupted more than energy prices. It had also complicated the movement of goods for businesses that depend on global shipping routes.
PM Mendes sells doors to suppliers, builders and online retailers, importing products by sea from China and Indonesia. Those containers previously travelled through the Middle East, reaching the UK in around four weeks. Concerns over the safety of shipping have forced routes to change, with vessels now travelling around the Cape of Africa.
That detour has doubled the wait.
“They used to take four weeks to get here from China or Indonesia,” Fleming said. “Now they have to go around the Cape of Africa to get to us, so now you are waiting eight weeks to get containers and then to have to pay more for it as well.”
For a business already operating on tight margins, the extra cost is difficult to absorb. Fleming said many people do not realise that a war thousands of miles away in the Middle East can affect a UK company selling doors.
“It’s really challenging because if we absorb the costs, the only way that can go is off our bottom line and off of our profits,” she said. “So it makes margins very tight and it’s very stressful.”
The pressure is not limited to shipping delays. Fleming said supplier prices were moving rapidly, creating a shifting cost base for the company. “Last week alone, I had five different suppliers put the prices up,” she said.
That volatility leaves PM Mendes with limited options. Fleming said the business is focused on watching its numbers closely and ensuring it is operating as efficiently as possible. Passing higher costs on to customers is, she said, a last resort.
The documentary also highlighted the wider issue of global “choke points”, areas where disruption can quickly ripple through international trade. Fleming’s experience shows how exposed UK businesses can be when shipping routes are forced to change.
Still, she remains cautious rather than defeated.
“I have a warehouse full of doors,” Fleming said, “and hopefully it’s just a short-term storm that we can ride.”
Why This Matters: The case of PM Mendes perfectly illustrates the challenges facing many suppliers in the UK fenestration sector. Large numbers of products are imported from China and the surrounding region, and are therefore affected by the same conditions confronting PM Mendes. Longer lead times and rising costs are a significant concern. Some companies are working through existing UK stockholdings, but these will soon be exhausted. The additional costs cannot be absorbed, so installers and homeowners should expect price rises during this period of uncertainty. The key question, which nobody can yet answer, is how long this situation will last.
