NEWS | Round-up NEWS IN BRIEF
• Merlyn has continued its support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation with a new campaign to encourage people to check for possible signs of breast cancer. #painTITpink will invite people to draw pink boobs on bathroom mirrors or shower doors and share the pictures with the hashtag.
• Abode’s Pronteau Propure 4 IN 1 steaming hot tap has been granted Kiwa approval under Regulation 4 of Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations. The tap is now said to meet all UK legal regulations for safeguarding drinking water for public health.
• Whirlpool is sponsoring First Lego League tournaments in Peterborough and Bristol. Now in its fourth year of funding by Whirlpool, the Peterborough event on March 21, 2023, involves 15 local primary schools. The Bristol event on March 7, in its second year of funding, will involve 12 local primary schools. Participants will design and build competitive Lego robots.
• Brandt Design has launched a series of cookery classes with Jewish chef and writer Denise Phillips at its London showrooms. Kosher food will be the focus for the Finchley Road and Hatch End showrooms. They started in October and will run throughout 2023. The retailer will also launch its new Brandt Wine Academy in 2023.
• Atlanta Bathrooms has launched a new website as part of its ongoing brand development and customer experience improvement strategy. It is said to be easier to navigate and offer easy access to specifications to enhanced retailer search function.
• Hardware specialist Rothley has won Marketing and Communications Campaign of the Year in the Black Country Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. The award recognised Rothley’s move into social media with a campaign that reached 445,541 people. It was also a finalist for Small Business of the Year.
• Trend Interiors has launched an 88-page Winter 22 bedroom furniture brochure. It also features walk-in wardrobes and home offices.
• Furniture manufacturer Symphony has taken part in its first Wild Work Day in association with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The company sent staff to Carlton Marsh nature reserve to assist with scrub control to encourage the grassland to flourish.
10
Bricks-and-mortar showrooms still top priority for suppliers, survey reveals
A NEW survey by industry association BathCom has revealed that independent showroom businesses are a major focus for suppliers moving into 2023. In the survey, suppliers were asked: in the last decade have your sales to independent showrooms contracted, stabilised, or grown? The majority of BathCom stakeholder suppliers – which includes brands like Roca, Barwicks, Be Modern, Hansgrohe, Merlyn, Roman and Roper Rhodes – said that sales to independent, bricks-and-mortar showrooms had grown over the past 10 years, with just a very small percentage of suppliers saying sales to showrooms had contracted.
Suppliers were also asked how important bricks-and- mortar displays are to their overall strategy and whether they expect sales to independent retailers to contract, stabilise or grow, over the next 10 years. The majority said that they were expecting their sales to grow and that displays in showrooms would continue to be a key part of their strategy. The survey – sent to its 140 retail members and 40 stakeholder supplier members – set out to find out where the opportunities are for retailers and suppliers moving into 2023. The results were revealed at BathCom’s first ever in-person conference, held at the end of October at the Belfry resort near Birmingham. BathCom chairman Gary Lake said: “These results are fantastic because, as far as the majority of suppliers are concerned, not only are they expecting growth in this sector, but over the next 10 years, despite the pressure the internet is putting on the bathroom sector, getting their displays into bricks-and-mortar showrooms will be a key element of their business strategy moving forward.
“This shows that the bricks-and-mortar bathroom retail sector is alive and kicking and a top priority for suppliers.”
Considering the ever-changing economic landscape, the
survey asked retailers how confident they were for the future of bathroom retail for the remainder of the decade. Almost half of the retail respondents said that they were very confident, with just 18% saying they were concerned about the remainder of the decade.
Looking further at where the opportunities for growth lie for retailers, the survey asked whether supply-and-fit would be important for sustainable growth and profitability in the future. Forty-eight per cent said that supply-and-fit would be more important to their business in the future, showing that this could be a big growth area for retailers in the future as consumers continue to demand and expect more. Just 15% said supply-and-fit would be less important to their business than it is now.
“There are clearly some challenges ahead, but every challenge is an opportunity,” Lake concluded. “The results of our survey clearly show that working more closely with the trade is an area of growth for retailers. Half of our member retailers say they do work with the trade already, but it’s happened organically through relationship building rather than as a key part of their strategy and that’s where the focus has to be in 2023, I think. The other opportunity is supply-and-fit. “What’s amazing is that bricks-and-mortar showrooms are clearly at the forefront of suppliers’ minds and, most importantly, are a key strategy for their businesses moving forward.”
Passmore Group joins the KBSA
YORKSHIRE BASED family-run retailer Passmore Group has joined the KBSA.
The brand has a full project management design and installation service and has recently celebrated its 50 year anniversary.
Speaking of joining the KBSA, Tony Passmore, chairman at Passmore Group said: “The KBSA offers us the opportunity to reinforce our credentials
with customers and highlights our commitment to professionalism alongside our core values of trust, care, respect, passion and above and beyond.”
KBSA national chair Richard Hibbert said: “I am delighted to welcome Passmore Group into the KBSA. Membership growth continues to be strong in 2022 as we drive forward our ambitious plans for growth.”
Passmore Group is subdivided into More Bathrooms, More Ability, More Kitchens, More Bedrooms and More Build to offer a complete solution for the home.
It was established in 1965 by husband-and-wife team, Brian and Kathleen Passmore, it is now owned by their two sons, Tony and Steve, who are joined on the board of Directors by Vicki Roberts.
· December 2022
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