Opinion


kbb Birmingham 2018 Show Special


How to… make money out of fitted bedroom furniture


Michael Copp, sales manager, south, for Hepplewhite, explains how retailers could be missing out on significant opportunities by ignoring the potential of bedroom furniture


W


hy should kitchen and bathroom retailers consider selling fitted bedroom furniture?


Once a customer has purchased


a kitchen or bathroom from you, they have bought into your business and (hopefully) are happy with the service. What a shame, then, because you don’t sell bedroom furniture, that they can’t do further business with you and just walk away after one sale. Offering bedroom furniture, on the other hand, opens up the opportunity to sell to a customer who already loves what you do. It’s a much quicker – and a much easier – sell than a kitchen or bathroom, leveraging resources you already have. It also takes far less time to design, price, and fit than a kitchen. And when you compare the time spent on them,


Selling fitted bedrooms isn’t complicated. Unlike a kitchen or bathroom it’s a dry fit, so there’s no appliances, extraction, plumbing, or building work. It may sound obvious, but there are different considerations and questions that need to be asked when selling a bedroom – so take off your kitchen hat and put on your bedroom cap and think about the following:


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What storage options do your clients need? Are they looking for interior shelving, full or double handing, shoe storage, or something else entirely?


What bed size are you working with? Are they keeping their current bed or are they changing it for a bigger or smaller one?


Be sure to account for and measure the radiator location, room height, windowsill height, curtain rails, sockets, and everything


else that can trip you up once it comes to installation.


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Is the customer planning on new carpet, or are they keeping the existing one? I would always advise fitting carpet after installation. If your customer is keeping the existing carpet, a carpet fitter will need to refit after install.


When selling sliding doors, check whether they will fit up any staircase, and whether overlapping doors will work with the interiors.


bedrooms can work out to be more profitable too. After talking with experienced retailers the


average kitchen retails at £15,750 with a 26.5% margin (£4,173.75), bedrooms at £3,500 with a 39% margin (£1,365). It takes on average three hours 54min to sell a bedroom and 12 hours to sell a kitchen. Based on hours spent, you can make more money selling bedrooms than you can kitchens. Making £350 an hour on a bedroom and £347.81 an hour on a kitchen.


Additional sales What’s more, most properties have more than one bedroom, which means there is a great opportunity for one customer placing multiple orders. In my experience, fitted bedrooms can be a relatively easy sell, at least as long as you have the right approach and attitude towards selling them.


things to consider


A bedroom installation normally takes one to two days. When selling bedrooms, always ensure you turn the quote around quickly, too – ideally within a few days. Remember, bedrooms are an impulse buy and most are sold within seven days from the client’s first visit. One of the standout differences, for me, is the level of commitment to fitted bedrooms. Retailers who spend equal amounts of time and effort creating great-looking bedroom displays as they do with kitchen and bathrooms sell a lot. Those who don’t pay attention to their showroom displays struggle to sell bedrooms. It’s as simple as that. Displays are key to maximising sales, so take them seriously. If you have the space, try to build a bedroom display in your front window, or at least in good view within the showroom. Too often, retailers tell me their customers are always surprised to hear they sell bedroom furniture – but that’s because the displays are tucked away. It’s really important to dress your bedroom displays correctly too. I know retailers who have used an interior designer, which has worked out well. To take full advantage of the fitted-bedroom


market, retailers must take it seriously. Take the same approach to it as you do with the kitchen or bathroom market, or you won’t be successful.


106 kbbreview kbb Birmingham Special Edition March 2018


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