MANUFACTURER PROFILE | Aqata
A Quadrant enclosure from Aqata’s flagship Design Solutions range
is the fact that we’ve involved them in our journey,” Lee says. “This is to ensure that we, as a brand, remain relevant to consumers, which ultimately will help them do the same.”
Investment
As well as new product development, investment in sample kits, cleaning kits and brochures to help support the retail story in-store, following their ‘design weeks’ Lee and Stokes have redesigned the brand’s website and are actively building its profile on social media in a bid to increase brand awareness among consumers and drive footfall through to retailers. “A major move to make our business more relevant to retailers is that we’ve strengthened our website with a lead- generation tool that feeds right back to the retailer,” explains Stokes. “We’ve also optimised the new website with every conceivable word stream you can imagine, to attract premium consumers who are searching for, and want to buy, a luxury shower enclosure. Retailers also get their own landing page on the site, which includes all the information about the business they want consumers to see.”
Like most suppliers, Aqata has a different level of criteria for
We already work with some fantastic retailers but, ideally, we’d like to have a Platinum or Gold retailer in every town in the country – but we’re looking for real partners who really understand the brand
and want to invest in it Dean Stokes, sales director, AQ Group/Aqata
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Aqata sources its glass and components from across the UK
Displays in the Aqata showroom
retailers, depending on their commitment to the brand. At the top are Platinum followed by Gold and Silver retailers. “We work with some fantastic retailers,” explains Stokes. “At the moment we have around 400 in the Silver category, and around 110 retailers that are a mix of Platinum and Gold. Of course, we want to grow – ideally, we’d like to have a Platinum or Gold retailer in every town in the country – but we’re looking for real partners who really understand the brand and want to invest in it. A lot of the retailers that joined us for our
design weeks and really bought into what we’re doing here are now 50% up year on year.” Lee adds: “We’re in good shape, our
but story is about more than
numbers right now,” explains Lee. “Our story is what we’re trying to do for the future of the business and that of our retailers. We’re on a journey of investment, a journey of engagement and a journey of bringing the next generation of shower enclosure producers into the business.” Bathroom retailers will no doubt be buoyed by the idea of a brand, like Aqata, that claims to be honing its
strategy to ensure it offers exactly what retailers need from a supplier. But is there anything else retailers must to do to ensure success in an increasingly challenging market? “The industry has changed immeasurably since Dean and I started out,” concludes Lee. ”It used to be very traditional and very siloed in its structure – you were either a bathroom retailer, a plumbers merchant or a DIY store – the retail market was very vanilla in that respect but, with various big tech platforms like Wayfair and Amazon now selling bathroom products,
the very blurred.
“For independent showroom retailers to continue to be successful, they have to stay relevant. So, they’ve got to offer a fantastic design service, they have to be engaged, they have to be knowledgeable, they’ve got to be financially capable of developing, investing and evolving.”
He concludes: “Showroom retailers have to offer something special these days – whether that’s a design service, a friendly face or knowledge etc, they can’t just move boxes, because there are other platforms that can do that.”
· June 2022 lines have become
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