Bathroom Brands | ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
‘The independent retail channel is particularly resilient…’
As one of the biggest suppliers in the UK, Bathroom Brands is a bellwether for the prosperity and health of the sector. We caught up with CEO Stephen Ewer for his analysis of what 2024 will bring…
Q & A
Q: How was 2023 for Bathrooms Brands? A: I think 2023 was tough for the whole sector owing to poor consumer confidence, the cost of living crisis, and the various disruptions to the supply chain. For Bathroom Brands, it’s been a challenging year from a performance point of view but our results are quite pleasing and broadly in line with the market with a few pockets where we’ve overperformed and a few where we’ve underperformed. I think, like many others, we’ve continued to show real resilience.
Q: And how about the current overall market? A: I think the wider geopolitical environment continues to impact the industry. The latest disruptions around the Red Sea are definitely impacting lead times, costs, and the overall service commitment in the near term. And I
March 2024 •
think, more broadly, these continued disruptions have impacted consumers directly. For example, in 2023 we saw a couple of notable casualties in the sector and this inevitably created some adverse perception amongst consumers. I think this is a warning for us collectively to think about how best we safeguard consumer interests.
Q: With this disruption do you constantly adapt and change strategy or is there a clear roadmap that you stick to? A: I think it works at both levels. We have a clear strategy and believe that if we look at it over the longer cycle there is a very positive trajectory. But in the shorter term we are having to adapt and put in initiatives that are more reactive and responsive to the market. I think since Covid we’ve seen a yo-yo market that’s been difficult to navigate but when we look at the outlook we see the market returning to 2022 levels over the next two to three years.
Q: Can you tell us more about that strategy? A: As I said, resilience is a watchword for us and we’re continuing to grow our market share. Ultimately our goal is to be the leading design- led bathroom interior business in the sector. So we’ve really invested in our design capability and our own design team and that’s resulted in bringing over 1,000 new products onto the market last year across our four brands of Crosswater, Burlington, Britton and the newly- launched Clearwater Interiors. So this is what we call ‘democratising design’ – the ability to give high-quality products at an affordable price.
Q: Independent retailers are key to your succes so when the market’s tough it must be reassuring to have such a robust channel? A: Absolutely, the independent retail channel is particularly resilient and adapts to market conditions remarkably well. We’re obviously proudly part of that ecosystem so it’s hugely important to us and we want to ensure we’re providing the service level and customer experience that’s expected so in 2024 we’re going to be as focused on that as we ever have been. For example, we’re looking to continue inspiring consumers through targeted digital marketing and drive consumer leads to our partner retailers.
Q: How about investment in the showroom? A: This is so vital, when those leads come into the showroom we have to work with our retail partners
to give them the best possible
experience and convert leads to orders. So we have a new approach to our in-store display programmes with innovative new formats and investments that will represent the largest display refresh programme for the group in over five years and I think this is really underlining our commitment to independent retailers.
Q: What are your predictions for 2024? A: This year is full of uncertainties and while we see upside opportunities, I think we’re realistically planning for a similar, if not slightly improved, year compared with 2023. But I think that later this year and into 2025 we’ll start to see a more recognisable market development and this yo-yo period we’ve had since Covid has passed.
bathroombrands.com 01322 473 222
info@bathroombrands.com 17
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