RETAILER PROFILE | TBK Design
TBK’s 30,000sq ft London showroom is packed with beautiful displays. Manager Gary Parker tells Chris Frankland how kbbreview’s 2021 Bathroom Retailer of the Year set out to give customers the best possible experience
A sensory experience
A
s I climb the stairs from the ground-floor reception to the first floor, all of my
senses are called into play. My eyes take in the grand vista of tasteful displays stretching before me, enticing me in. My nose is treated to the lovely fragrance that pervades the showroom and my ears are soothed by the strains of some tasteful jazz.
Lighting too is perfectly done to create the right mood and still showcase the products in each display at their best.
The 30,000sq ft showroom just north of London’s Staples Corner does little to prepare visitors for the spectacular displays – one reason TBK Design includes a taster video of the showroom on its website, just to pique people’s curiosity.
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Showroom manager Gary Parker tells me the thinking
sensory assault. He says: “We try to take the stress
away while you are choosing your bathroom. Because when people feel relaxed, and they have a drink in front of them, and they hear lovely music in the background and their smells are alert, it helps them make choices.” Parker summarises TBK Designs’ approach: “We have based our business on – (1) Have amazing displays so people can visualise what their room will look like. (2) Give them the expertise that comes from our many years of experience, and (3) Give them an ambience that makes them want to be here and enjoy being here.” TBK used a professional design consultancy to help them with the showroom layout. “It worked very well,” Parker tells me.
behind that
“They helped us achieve what I call a flow through the showroom, which I think is important. Once you walk in, it is important that your eye is drawn to the furthest point, because it makes it feel bigger and gives you the chance to show people things as they walk through those areas.”
Zoning
The showroom is divided in such a way as to separate out the various price points they serve. On the ground floor, which they refer to as the ‘factory outlet’, are the main tile displays with a few entry-level bathrooms. Then, on the first floor, you come to the main bathroom area, and as you progress further, the high-end bespoke area. Tiles feature prominently throughout showroom
the and indeed when
Stephen Joel started the TBK business in its original showroom back in 1984,
it sold just tiles.
“Originally it was a tile showroom,” explains Parker. “Around 35 years ago, there only tended to be tile shops and bathrooms shops, there was never a bathroom and tile shop combined. Then slowly, we found we started to put some bathroom displays in to make the tiles look better and help sell them. And the progression was that that display became a complete bathroom display with tiles.” As well as its showroom, TBK Design also has a large warehouse where they hold what they tell me is the biggest stock of tiles in London And TBK Design certainly displays a wide selection and variety of porcelain tiles, ranging from 300mm by 600mm right up to the extra-large 1,600mm by 3,200mm
slabs you will see
dramatically presented in the bespoke bathrooms area.
· August 2022
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