RETAILER PROFILE | Bathrooms at Source
have our showroom exclusive area for exclusive products.”
I ask about any other plans and it seems a move into kitchens is on the cards. “It doesn’t intimidate me,” says Terry, “and it does give us another string to our bow. But it is all about the showroom. I have two or three teams that would fit kitchens, but people expect you to have proper displays. If you look at Tiles at Source as a shop in its own right, that’s what kitchens could be, rather than trying to shoehorn a few kitchen displays in here. So yes, we will do kitchens.”
Earlsfield and Putney area, although they have supplied bathrooms for customers’ second homes in Kent and Norfolk. But Terry adds an important caveat:
“We plough our own field. If someone walks in here with a quote and a design from another showroom asking us to better it, we won’t do it.”
Interior designers
They are also now working more with interior designers and architects, more so since they have started to stock more exclusive ranges. They also design and supply bathrooms for a few property developers. Their
average sale for a typical
London 2m square bathroom with tiles and installation is £20,000 to £25,000. But interestingly, she says that the majority, around 65%, of the bathrooms they sell are traditional, with lots of brass, copper and special finishes. They complete around six to eight installations a month, overseen by a dedicated installations manager. They
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have fitters they recommend to clients and have eight teams at their disposal – but they admit that good installers are getting harder to find. “We look for a particular breed of
fitter,” says Terry. “They have to multitask. They are not plumbers that can do a bit of tiling – these guys can screed a floor, they can tile, they can decorate.” They must also be “punctual, polite and tidy”.
He says they lost of a lot of fitters due to Covid and Sarah adds that she has contacted South Thames College three times about apprenticeships, but without success. Terry adds: “Because of the extra demand, all of the bad fitters have come to the forefront. The good guys that are left know what they are worth and there aren’t many of them.”
He also hopes that once the trade counter is up and running, that will provide a new source of good fitters. Looking ahead, Sarah confides that their main website needs some work. “The website at the moment is just awful to use. We didn’t want to lose control of it, so we have had another go at managing it ourselves. We are using a web developer but we will manage all of the data. “We now have three websites –
tilesatsource.com, plumbingatsource. com, which is an IPG website that is online through the buying group, then
bathroomsatsource.com. We will also
Many bathroom businesses these days have a high turnover of staff. We have continuity and experience. It is not about selling. It is about what customers need. It’s got to be service-driven
Terry Jones, founder and co-owner, Bathrooms at Source
Bathrooms at Source is also doing its best to educate its customers about buying sustainable products. “We always ask if people are on a water meter,” says Terry. “And if they are, we ask why they want a massive drench showerhead.” Sarah adds: “We care about the environment and renewable energy and we are looking at selling heat pumps through the plumbers merchant. That is the future, although some people don’t want to admit it. Sustainable products are something we have to focus on in the future.” But Terry admits people still love a luxurious bathroom experience and a massive drench shower head: “Unfortunately, as much as we may not want it to be, for our clientele, it is design over function. But it is important to put the options in front of people.” Turnover last year for Bathrooms at Source was around £3.4 million. Sales increased by 20% during Covid and have been growing steadily. But, as Terry adds: “It has to be gradual. It is easy to take the money, but you have to give the customer service.” And after all these years, Terry concludes: “I still get a buzz out of getting recommendations.”
• August 2023
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