SUPPLIER PROFILE | VitrA


VitrA UK MD, Steve Breen


c ‘We’reommitted to helping independent bathroom


showrooms thrive’


VitrA UK’s MD, Steve Breen, tells Rebecca Nottingham how a back-to-basics strategy of putting their independent retailers first and listening to their needs will help the brand double its size by 2027…


he UK bathroom market has come a long way in terms of style, innovation and choice. It would be fair to say that has, in part, been driven by the sector’s penchant for collaborating with high profile designers to bring a premium, cutting-edge design feel to products. One such brand with an enviable portfolio


T of


designer collections – including Liquid, created with iconic British designer Tom Dixon – is of course VitrA. “The Group’s background sits strongly in architecture and the arts – and we haven’t talked about that or our manufacturing heritage enough in the past,” explains VitrA UK MD, Steve Breen. “You only have to look at some of the designer names we’ve collaborated with to see the influences in design we have.”


Part of the family-owned Eczacibaşi Group, Turkish brand VitrA was launched 66 years ago. And,


44


although proud of its Turkish heritage, with 32 years trading under its belt here, it’s fair to say it’s made its mark on the UK too.


“The UK is our biggest branded market outside


Turkey,” says Breen. “Hence why we opened our showroom in Clerkenwell, it’s a real statement of intent around the brand. But, in Turkey, VitrA has the same kind of brand recall as Coca-Cola, so although we have achieved a lot here there is work to be done.”


Having held high-profile roles at Ideal Standard and AEG Breen – who took over as MD in July 2022 following the retirement of Levent Giray, the man that introduced VitrA to the UK back in 1992 – is no stranger to bathrooms or the KBB sector as a whole. Although he is full of admiration for Giray’s work in establishing VitrA UK, it is perhaps unsurprising that, as the brand’s new UK MD, Breen has set in motion an ambitious strategy to build on Giray’s success.


• March 2024 VitrA’S


Clerkenwell showroom


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