SUPPLIER PROFILE | Aqualla
The Dundonald showroom features Aqualla and Adamsez products
Allaway, “having us there to support them in whatever way we can is very important. We have 10 people in our customer service team and we also have people in technical support, if, post-sale, anyone needs advice on installation. We are not a sales business, we are a customer service- focused business.” And to prove it, Allaway says that since Covid they have doubled the size of Aqualla’s external sales team who visit showrooms regularly. Aqualla has also been ramping up its presence in mainland UK. In October last year, it put in place a new GB sales team headed up by Pete Banham.
UK expansion
“Over the past two-and-a-half years, we have appointed seven regional sales managers [in mainland UK] and we now have full coverage of Great Britain,” explains Allaway. “Retailers have their own reputations to protect and they don’t want to jump in and commit to a new supplier who maybe doesn’t have a long-term reputation. For us, it is about proving to retailers that not only does their business really matter to us, but that we can be a great supplier to them.”
Up until 2016, Aqualla sales were 100% Northern and Southern Ireland, but since entering the market, GB has grown from 29% of total sales in 2021 to 44% in 2023. And Allaway adds: “We believe there is still so much opportunity to continue our growth in the GB market.”
Product-wise, Aqualla offers a range of brassware, radiators, mirrors and accessories, as well as Adamsez baths and shower trays. In its Dundonald showroom it has displays of the four Aqualla brassware ranges it launched in 2022 – Hanna, Ivy, Avante and Edge – as well as Kyloe and the new Geo and Mila baths from
44
AQUALLA TIMELINE 2011
Steven Allaway launches Aqualla after a year of market research.
2012 The GB sales team
Adamsez due for launch later this month. It showcases the various finishes from chrome through to matt black, gunmetal and brushed nickel. Aqualla products are sourced from factories in the Far East and Europe. “Historically, there was a perception that products manufactured in the Far East were of poor quality, however that has changed during the past 20 years. We have visited the best and worst of manufacturing facilities. Being able to audit them with the group’s team based in the Far East, and our Euro- pean test facilities, give us control over materials
and components used,
which is critical.” R&D
The latest four ranges were developed in conjunction with its R&D partners at Damixa (also part of FM Mattsson Mora), but Aqualla also has its own in-house R&D capabilities.
Summing up the philosophy behind Aqualla products, Allaway says: “Innovation is really important to us. In
the early days, it was about looking for commodity products that were popular in the marketplace and already selling. But, as we have grown and evolved, we have invested in products and have our own ranges and designs that bring through innovation and do things a little
differently from others on the market.” He adds: “Having a depth of range is also important. If someone is looking for a tap in brushed nickel, which is very popular at the moment, it is also important that they can buy a matching exposed or concealed shower, a tall or wall-mounted basin tap, bathroom accessories, even bottle traps and overflow caps.”
For the future, Allaway says he wants to keep Aqualla and Adamsez on the path they are on. Sustainability, though, is a major item on their agenda. “We have now adopted sustainability as a core value for Aqualla and Adam- sez,” explains Allaway, “supported by our colleagues in Sweden. Our objective for this year is to really focus on our sustainability journey. We changed a lot of our packaging, we looked at our recycling, we have a policy that every company car going forward should be hybrid or fully electric and our box fillers are now recyclable. “We sell water-delivering products
and the UK Government forecasts major water shortages in the future. If we can play some part in helping our customers to manage that through products that don’t compromise on functionality but use less water, then I think there is an opportunity for us to really harness that.”
Aqualla opens 45 accounts in Northern Ireland.
2013
Brand launches into Southern Ireland.
2014
Adds heated towel rails to its product portfolio.
2015
Aqualla enters UK market. 2017
Aqualla adds mirrors to its line-up and within a year the category accounted for 20% of sales.
2018
The company makes its fifth move in seven years into 20,000sq ft premises.
2020
Aqualla acquires UK’s oldest bath brand, Adamsez.
2021
Company joins FM Mattsson Mora Group – the largest manufacturer of brassware in Scandinavia.
· February 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
