Mark Radcliffe | THE KBBREVIEW INTERVIEW
Q: What do you put the success down to specifically? A: A lot of it is down to reacting to what the customer wants as well. We know day by day, minute by minute, what our customers want based on research and our website search bars. We’re then quick to react to that information, using it to develop a broad enough product offering that meets their needs and, above all else, making it available to them when they want it.
Like many other successful businesses in other industries, timing played a big part. It would be very difficult to replicate it. There was just so much opportunity at that time. Even when the business was in its stride in 2008/2009, many manufacturers
still didn’t want
their products sold online. I told them: ‘Online retail is inevitable and you’re going to have to embrace it at some point, so why not work with the most responsible online seller there is?’ We’ve never undercut anybody on price since day one, we sell responsibly and maintain product value.
Q: How important are people to your strategy? A: I may have started the business on my own, but it’s only this successful because of the people that I’ve asked to help me on this journey. From my brother – product
April 2023 •
director Neil Radcliffe – who joined me very early on and is one of our biggest assets, to the rest of our 570+ employees. Finding good staff
is probably
one of the biggest challenges of starting and running a successful business. Building on that success is the fact that my amazing team can’t be replicated by our competitors.
Q: What have you learnt about the bathroom industry over the past 23 years? A: For a start, fashion has become a huge part of the bathroom. Historically people would change their bathrooms every 10 years perhaps, but I’d say that period has considerably red- uced because for the fashion part of the home – particularly with the younger category of buyers – it seems to be so important to have
We know day by day, minute by minute, what our customers want
the latest, most fashionable products. Colour is back too as people are being more adventurous and playful with designs, which is exciting for the industry. The other obvious change is that most homeowners now want – and even expect – multiple bathrooms, which, again is
creating oppor- tunities for the industry.
Water-saving tech-
nology, and technology overall, are all helping the industry develop and, in turn, grow stronger.
It’s a very interesting time for the bathroom sector.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made over the Victorian Plumbing journey and what impact did they have on you and the business? A: I will admit to having made tons of mistakes along the way, but, in
truth, I never really saw them as mistakes. I just saw them as lessons. So, every ‘mistake’ was actually a positive, because it led me to develop and shape the business into what it is. We run the business with that same approach today. I believe that every negative situation creates opportunity.
With any business, there are
elements of trial and error – especially in the early days. You will make mistakes, but you must be willing to learn from them and adapt. A business must adapt, or it will
fail. We have adapted – to the „ 39
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