{"id":10659,"date":"2026-09-01T09:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.munich-strategy.com\/?p=10659"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:59:08","slug":"back-to-profitability-interview-constantin-greiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.munich-strategy.com\/en\/back-to-profitability-interview-constantin-greiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Back to Profitability: “Anyone who believes that growth will soon return for everyone is mistaken.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Autor<\/h5>\n

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Marisa Els\u00e4\u00dfer<\/strong><\/h6>\n

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Study Back to Profitability<\/em>: “Anyone who believes that growth will soon return for everyone is mistaken.” Interview with Dr. Constantin Greiner<\/h1>\n

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Munich Strategy\u2019s study makes one thing clear: The window industry remains under significant pressure. Revenues and earnings have declined considerably in recent years, while rising costs and a challenging market environment are putting additional strain on companies. A rapid return to previous market volumes is not to be expected.<\/h6>\n
In an interview with GLASWELT Editor-in-Chief Daniel Mund, Dr. Constantin Greiner, construction industry expert at Munich Strategy, assesses the current situation. Here is a preview with three questions from the interview.<\/h6>\n

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“This is not a cycle \u2013 it’s a loss of substance.”<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Dr. Constantin Greiner, Co-Head Building, Construction & Infrastructure Europe<\/span><\/p>\n

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Mr. Greiner, why is the situation so serious<\/strong>?<\/h5>\n
“Among the window industry companies we analyzed, average EBITDA has declined by around 5 percentage points over the past three years, while revenue has fallen by around 10%. In absolute terms, this means that only half of the profit remains,\u201d explains Dr. Greiner. For many companies, the situation is even more severe, as they were already operating on low margins before the crisis.<\/h6>\n

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Why are traditional innovation strategies currently falling short<\/strong>?<\/h5>\n
\u201cMay I turn that question around and ask you: Which companies in the window industry are truly innovative?\u201d Greiner asks critically. \u201cThe vitality rate \u2013 the share of revenue generated with new end products \u2013 is significantly lower in this industry than in other building supply sectors. What the industry urgently needs are bold frontrunners that drive genuine innovation rather than relying on old playbooks.”<\/h6>\n

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What are the biggest cost drivers<\/strong>?<\/h5>\n
\u201cIn many companies, revenues have declined sharply, yet personnel costs are still at the same level as before the market downturn,\u201d says Greiner. \u201cAt the same time, the project business is becoming more challenging: margins are declining while capital requirements are increasing. Companies now need to decide whether to strengthen their competitiveness through higher productivity and strategic cost reductions \u2013 or let the market decide for them.”<\/span><\/h6>\n

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Revenue and earnings development 2022 bis 2024<\/strong><\/h5>\n

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CONTACT<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n

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Connecting knowledge.<\/h1>\n

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Back to Profitability: Take action instead of waiting for the market<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Our study Back to Profitability<\/em> shows why simply hoping for a market recovery is not enough for companies in the window industry. In our view, residential construction will recover, but market volume will remain structurally below pre-2022 levels. This matches the wording and conclusion of the English study, which expects the market to remain structurally 15\u201320% smaller than before 2022.<\/h6>\n
Using case studies from adjacent industries, the study demonstrates which levers companies can use to improve profitability independently of market growth \u2013 from overhead restructuring and more rigorous margin management to process and productivity optimization. The case studies presented achieved earnings improvements of up to \u20ac6 million.<\/h6>\n
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Would you like to learn more about the concrete approaches window industry companies can take to optimize their cost and earnings structures and sustainably strengthen their competitiveness?<\/span><\/h6>\n
Our study \u201cBack to Profitability: How window industry companies can achieve above-average margins despite ongoing market turbulence\u201d<\/strong> is available upon request via email. Please feel free to contact us \u2013 we will be happy to send you the study or discuss the findings with you personally.<\/span><\/h6>\n
The full interview by GLASWELT Editor-in-Chief Daniel Mund with Dr. Constantin Greiner<\/strong> will be published in the September issue of GLASWELT: www.glaswelt.de<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h6>\n

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t<\/strong><\/em> +49 \u2013 89 \u2013 1250 1590
\npresse@munich-strategy.com<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

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Dr. Constantin
\nGreiner<\/h6>\n

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Dr. Constantin Greiner at the VDMA: Construction Markets Between Structural Demand and Geopolitical Disruption
\nPresentation<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

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Report: European Construction Quarterly | Q1 2026
\nReport<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

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Dr. Constantin Greiner assesses the state of the window industry and explains why companies should not count on a rapid market recovery. <\/h6>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction","category-homepost-2","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t