Opinion
opinion // Stephen Atkinson The price is right – or is it?
With such busy lives, how can retailers ever be sure they’re quoting the most up-to-date prices? According to Stephen Atkinson, from Waterloo Bathrooms, the only solution is a more joined-up approach from the industry at large...
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ricing bathrooms has never been straightforward. There are countless products sourced from multiple manufacturers. Layers of lighting,
tiling, furniture and brassware combinations all add to the complexity. With so many moving parts, the question is: how confident can you really be that your pricing is correct? When you sit down to quote, are you certain
everything is up to date? Did you remember that email from two months ago about toilets increasing by 3.7%, while vanity units went up 2.2%, but the new tap range stayed the same? Were those increases clearly communicated, or simply sent out once and considered “done”? From the supplier’s perspective, the information has been issued. From ours, it becomes just another detail to track amongst dozens of brands and constant day-to-day demands. I think suppliers sometimes forget that we
don’t deal with just one or two brands – we deal with many. Each one communicates differently, at different times, and with varying levels of clarity. Some are excellent, providing advance notice, updated price lists and clear effective dates. Others are far less structured, leaving us to piece things together ourselves. In some cases, we’re not even told at all.
Recently, it was only by chance – while speaking to a manufacturer about something unrelated – that I discovered prices were due to increase on April 1st. We purchase that range through two separate suppliers. One informed us just five days before the deadline. The other, even now, has yet
has been provided. When asked, the response is that printed brochures are no longer being produced due to cost. While that may make sense from a supplier’s perspective, it removes a reliable reference point for those of us quoting daily.
A huge difference Of course, most businesses now use pricing
software, but even that is only as accurate as the data behind it. Updates can lag, feeds can be incomplete, and sometimes the simplest way is
Of course, most businesses now use pricing software, but
even that is only as accurate as the data behind it
"
to say anything. Situations like that don’t just create inconvenience – they create real risk to margin. And then there’s the shift away from printed
price books. We’re still working from a 2024 copy for one supplier, simply because no updated version
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still to sit down with a customer and flick through a brochure together. But how do you handle that when prices are always shifting? It’s not realistic to say: “Just add 4.7% to everything in this book.” The lack of consistency across the industry is what makes it most frustrating. Some suppliers go the extra mile, providing updated price books in advance of increases, understanding that we quote weeks or months ahead and need to protect our margins. Others rely on a single email or silent update and move on. A more joined-up approach across the industry would make a huge difference – clear timelines, consistent formats and proper notice periods would allow everyone to operate with far more confidence. Yet one thing’s always consistent – suppliers
rarely lose out. At one minute past midnight on the effective date, pricing updates without hesitation. The new figures are live, margins are protected at their end, and the responsibility shifts firmly onto the retailer to absorb, adjust or explain. In an already competitive market, that imbalance is becoming harder and harder to ignore.
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What do you think? We always want to hear your views and opinions, so email
editor@kbbreview.com to be featured in a future issue
May 2026
iStock.com // Yutthana Gaetgeaw
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