NEWS | Round-up


KBBG: strong start to year after 78% sales uplift in 2021


THE KITCHEN Bathroom Buying Group (KBBG) has seen sales grow by 78% in 2021 versus 2020 and by more than half (51.8%) between January and May 2022 compared with the 2021. In 2021, the KBBG added 41 new members and already this year have gained 31 new members. In addition, in the past six months, new suppliers have joined the KBBG, including com- ponents and kitchen supplier BA and surface manufacturer Multipanel. KBBG managing director Bill Miller (pictured) gave a full report on KBBG and parent company Der Kreis at the group’s June annual general meeting. He said: “The growth is driven by the acquisition of new members, more turnover from existing new members, and the introduction of new suppliers.”


Der Kreis saw sales grow from €4.27 billion (£3.61bn) to €4.73 billion with a growth of 10.8%, and total membership growing from 3,409 to 3,498 in 2021. The buying group operates in 11 countries and has just started operating in Italy.


Of the challenges facing the KBB


industry, Miller said: “I said at the last AGM eight months ago that the kitchen and bathroom industry is facing some of its biggest challenges. To be truthful, I had hoped that some of these issues would be resolved in eight months. But, I think it is


fairly


obvious that many of the challenges have not been resolved and the list of challenges has grown longer. “Everyone, be it supplier or retailer, has seen amazing business over the past two years, I know not for


everyone, but generally, the market has been flying along.”


The AGM was held on June 13 at


the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, an independent research and technology organisation. The day had special speakers talking about design and the industry – Vanessa Brady, founder of the Society of British and International Design, Michael Boland, sales director of AB Distributors, which handles De Dietrich in Ireland, and Steve Nesbitt, chief technologist of the MTC.


Compusoft + 2020 announces winners of Global Inspiration Contest


KBB DESIGN software specialist, Compusoft + 2020, has revealed the winners of its Global Inspiration Contest for kitchen, bathroom and office designers. This year’s competition was open to all users of the 2020 Design Live, 2020 Fusion Live, 2020 Office, Winner, and Innoplus platforms across North


America and Europe. There were more than 850 submissions across 12 categories.


Designers were judged on their creative, functional


and aesthetic design skills by a panel of judges, including kbbreview editor Rebecca Nottingham, Business of Furniture editor Rob Kirkbride, NKBA director of member relationships Alan Dove and EspritMeuble president Gaëtan Ménard. “We are so proud of all of our talented designers who entered the Global Inspiration Contest this year,” said Karen Curtis, director of marketing and communications at Compusoft + 2020. “A big congratulations to the winners who truly went above and beyond and made an impression on our judges as well as their peers.” Each winner will receive Amazon gift cards varying between $500 and $1,000 (in local currency).


Category Winners


2020 Design Live Kitchen: Catherine Ouimet, cuisine3d360 Bathroom: Sarah Shoe, CSI Kitchen and Bath Studio 360° Panorama: Brittany Hutt, Cabinets.com


2020 Fusion Live Kitchen: Aurore Guy, Les Simmone Bathroom: Michael Donovan, CW Interiors


360° Panorama: Idil Sindir, Hive Architectural Design Consultancy


14 2020 Office


Educational Space: Marianne Box, Hertz Furniture Large Office Space: Bill McCourt, The City Desk Company Small Office Space: Jenna Kurtz, Ethosource Compusoft Winner: Jose Garcia, BC3 Kitchens Innoplus: Aymeric Staudt, Braun et Baltes Distribution


Showcase 360: Elena Demkina, Palazzo Kitchens Auckland


Grand Prize Winners Best Overall Design: Anna Ozga, Prestons Kitchens Most Innovative Design: Yaprak Yalcinkaya, ODA Interiors


Trendiest Design: Hernandez Magali, La Maison des Archis - La Valette


Voters’ Choice: Bethany Ollila, Frendel Kitchens Limited


Mereway Kitchens rebrand offers new visual identity


MEREWAY KITCHENS has unveiled a new visual identity with its new rebranding. The first since it started in 1986, the kitchen manufacturer’s campaign has a new website with increased interactive functionalities, optimised retailer and Premuim Partner pages, a new range of POS materials, reskimmed liveries, and a storytelling video. The new look for Mereway is said to “embody the brand values of beauty, craftsmanship and conscious design”. The collections have been curated into two new brochures — Mereway Kitchens and Mereway In-Frame, designed to making it easier for retailers to showcase designs and making the selection process more experiential for consumers.


The namesake brochure combines contemporary and modern classics. The Q-Line collection sits alongside woodgrain shakers kitchens.


In-Frame


Kitchens highlights the brand’s premium range that can be personalised with a selected colour palette of hand-painted finishes.


Mark Mills, managing director of Mereway said:


“We’re excited that after years of brand development, we are able to present this complete refresh. It’s our privilege to work with so many great retailers who share our ethos of quality, care and creativity.”


· August 2022


Miller said about the event: “Following the success of last year’s meeting, we wanted to exceed the expectations of our members with a variety of engaging speakers and workshops. We hope that our guests found the event to be insightful as well as resourceful and were able to benefit from the networking opportunities and on-the-day offers and promotions from suppliers. We thank our event sponsor and the staff at the MTC for such a memorable day, and we look forward to next year’s meeting.”


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