NEWS | Round-up


Sustainability: we must do more to help retailers help the consumer


EVERYONE OPERATING in the KBB sector has a responsibility to highlight the commitments being made to sustainability, according to a panel of industry experts led by Lecico.


Speaking as part of a discussion titled The Future of Sustainable Bathrooms, the panel session – which was led by Lecico’s head of marketing, Sean Foley – included Antony Thomp- son, managing director of Lecico Bathrooms, Tom Reynolds, chief executive of the Bathroom Manu- facturers Association (BMA), and Lee Jones, head of sustainability at construction data company Byggfakta. The overriding message from the discussion was that everyone operating in the KBB industry – including installers, specifiers, retailers and manufacturers – must understand they have a key role in ensuring the sector plays its part in creating a more sustainable future. “We have a collective responsibility,” said Lecico MD Antony Thompson. “It’s about taking responsibility as KBB professionals to solve the problem.” When asked about whether consumers were aware of the sustain- ability efforts that manufacturers were making with products, Thompson said: “I don’t think they are, and I think it’s partly the fault of the manufacturer,


partly the fault of the retailer, and a little bit


the fault of the consumer. As


manufacturers, we don’t have enough products in that space that do the things that we need them to do, and I don’t think we necessarily train the retailers well enough.


“After we’ve supplied the products,


they’re responsible for selling it to the person who walks into the showroom. I’m not so sure that retailers are putting sustainable products front-and-centre in the showroom. As manufacturers, we’ve got to do more to help the


retailer to help the consumer.” When asked if he felt retailers were doing enough in the push for sustainable solutions, the BMA’s Reynolds answered: “I’ve sat on round tables with retailers, and sometimes their view is that consumers aren’t interested in sustainability, and that it’s the responsibility of the manufacturers to educate consumers.” Reynolds added: “I’m sorry to say


that’s simply just not the case. The answer is shared responsibility, from the manufacturers through to the


BC Designs increases stock levels by 60% after £250,000 investment


LUXURY BATH manufacturer BC Designs says it has completed an initial investment into its manufacturing capabilities.


The results of the investment the company has made are already visible, with BC Designs reporting a stock level increase across its entire product portfolio of as much as 60%.


BC Designs said it decided to make the investment


in order to strengthen its customer service offering to bathroom retailers, announcing that it has also managed to halve lead times during the sale process. Commenting on the investment and its results, Darren Allison, MD of BC Designs, explained: “We are continuing to see strong demand for our products in Q1 and into Q2 of this year, both with our existing range but also our latest additions. “We want to ensure that our customers, and their customers, are able to get hold of their first choice of bathroom products.”


He added: “When they require them, and our investment of over £250,000 in our manufacturing capabilities, as well as an additional warehouse, has ensured that this is now the case.” “As we near the end of this year, we’ll review how things are operating before making the decision of where to invest in for 2024 to continue to deliver the highest level of customer service and quality, design- led products that we are synonymous for.” BC Designs announced its intention to invest in manufacturing in November, and said it also intended to increase productivity and output in its factories by 40%. This investment news follows reports that the manufacturer had its most successful year for sales in the company’s history last year.


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consumer, and we’ve got to learn to communicate the credentials of the products to ensure that that message is going all the way through.” Thompson explained that he felt installers also have a responsibility to help educate consumers on making more sustainable choices: “Tom [Reynolds] and I are both very friendly with Damien [Walters] CEO of the BiKBBI, and he always talks about how there aren’t enough installers, therefore if there aren’t any new installers, then the existing ones will typically default to a product that they know they can fit easily and quickly.” When asked about what the next steps look like for the KBB industry’s push for sustainability, Lecico’s Thompson said that it is all about product innovation and education. “We need to continue to do a better job of creating products within the space,” he suggested. “We also need to do a better job of educating downstream about these products and their benefits.”


Thompson added: “As the market for these products increases, you would expect to see more economies of scale – it might help us to make them a little bit more cost-effective. I don’t necessarily think a consumer is going to pay double the price for a product that’s more sustainable.”


Drummonds: founder of bathroom retailer passes away


DRUMMONDS HAS sadly announced the death of its founder, Drummond Shaw. He reportedly passed away peacefully at his Dorset home on June 28, aged 73.


Shaw was born in 1950, and first worked as a commodity broker


in London before discovering a passion for architectural salvage while restoring a period property. This experience led to him establishing Drummonds Architectural Antiques in 1988, which became known for supplying restored antique bathroom fittings. Following the success of this business model, the company soon turned to producing its own collections of bathroom products, which made use of the same techniques and materials that informed classical bathroom design. Drummonds now has showrooms in London and New York. Despite stepping back to focus on his family in recent years, Drummonds says that his personality was always a major driving force within the company.


• August 2023


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