ANALYSIS | Sustainability
B
ack in January, a panel of KBB experts were brought together in an episode of the kbbreview Podcast to discuss how
the issue of sustainability isn’t registering on the shopfloor with consumers and retailers. Now that we’ve shed light on the issue, why is that the case? “It’s not something that comes up very often but sometimes customers will ask,” says Frazer Goodwillie, director at Billingham Kitchens. “In all honesty, I don’t know anywhere near enough about products in our supply chain to get into a detailed conversation about it. It would be great to have a better understanding of all the industry’s efforts and to ask some of our smaller suppliers. On the other hand, it’s not something that many customers are interested in, so I certainly wouldn’t want to start lecturing everyone on environmentalism, given there are already so many talking points to cover.”
Not bothered At Mulberry Kitchens in Hull, director Geoff Chivers, also
says his company’s customers are not
particularly bothered talking about sustainability. “In this day and age, we are forced into the situation of trying to get hold of any appliance from any manufacturer in order to provide a working kitchen or we lose the sale! I sadly have to admit that, in general, sustainability is near the bottom of my list of priorities.” Stewart Woodruff, owner of Kent-based MBK Design Studio, agrees: “I have never been asked about the sustainable features of the products I sell. Because of the long lifetime of kitchens and bathrooms and the fact that most items can be recycled in some way, I think that we are probably doing more than most industries. I understand that it is also about the carbon footprint that is produced because of these new purchases, but I am not sure that I have any choice or say in how the products are made or delivered. Are consumers interested on the sustainability of the products they buy? I’m not sure.” Bathroom retailers are sharing similar experiences. Justine Bullock, director of The Tap End in Pontyclun, was one of the retailers on the kbbreview Podcast ‘selling sustainability’ panel. “Sometimes a customer will say they wish to reuse an element of their old bathroom, such as a radiator, basin, or mirror, but that’s almost always down to cost saving rather than earth-saving reasons,” says Bullock. “I think that the home improvements industry in general is not very vocal about sustainability. For example, if an independent retailer encourages customers to make do and reuse elements of their old rooms, then this results in lower sales. The number of times we have seen customers rip out decent bathrooms because of personal style is a travesty. “However, our industry is based on customers ripping out the old and replacing with new — it’s how we make money. We have at least to ensure, where possible, that the new products we suggest for our customers
are as eco-friendly as possible to
counteract this. At The Tap End, we are good at talking about eco-friendly products and we have had a training session with our staff on exactly this topic, so we are always keeping them educated in this area.” So, there are retailers that see value in having a workforce that is knowledgeable about the sustainability of the products sold and the practices of the business they work for. Paul Crow, managing
42
THE SUSTAIN
It may be one of the hottest topics in the industry right now, but it appears that many retailers are simply not having conversations about sustainability with their customers. Matt Baker investigates why and what can be done to help them get the message across
director of Ripples, comments: “We recently retrained all our design team to be more aware of the sustainable activity already undertaken by our suppliers and to ensure that this information
is
passed on through the normal ‘features and benefits’ discussion. We are seeing a trickle effect of interest at this stage, but for now are focusing on the education of our team in order we can make this more of a habit within the organisation.” Ian Moverley, public affairs director at Whirlpool UK, says its research shows that consumers do care about the sustainable features of products. “It is our view that most retailers recognise the importance of sustainability. There is certainly increasing awareness and demand among consumers for products that offer water and energy saving benefits, in addition to saving users’ time and money. Our research supports this, showing that consumers want sustainable innovations that improve their lives at home. A study of over 2,000 people in the
UK revealed that 50% of consumers value innovations that use less energy and 40% value innovations that have a lower carbon footprint.”
Dilemma
Jo Sargent, sales and marketing director at Franke UK, understands the dilemma retailers face on the shopfloor. “It’s been a slow-burn topic with many feeling that perhaps they don’t have enough understanding, knowledge, or confidence to advise consumers about appropriate products. I think there is a feeling of ‘where do I begin with all this’, when there are already many products that they are familiar with that easily support sustainable living.” So, the issue of sustainability is complex. Stephen Johnson, Quooker UK managing director, explains: “We often discuss it as a nation in terms of emissions and climate change, however, we don’t often talk about the simple things that we could all do in our
· May 2022
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