Shopfloor analysis // Samples


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inevitably makes them numerous and seemingly breed like rabbits. The management of them is, therefore, almost a full-time job. “Across the whole business we have thousands of them,” says retailer


Stuart Luckman from RidgeWey in Weybridge. “We’re fortunate that we’ve got a large studio and are fairly ruthless when it comes to bringing in new elements but, yes, while individual collections might be updated a few times a year, collectively there’s something new virtually every week.” This constant need to keep on top of samples does raise the


question of whether suppliers simply provide too many. The fear that a specification may be lost unless every colour and finish is always at hand is understandable, but that may be underestimating the designer’s ability to curate samples to a point that clients are only ever actually seeing a handful. “I personally hate samples,” says Al Bruce of Olive & Barr. “They clog up our sales procedures and make it much harder for our customers to come to decisions. We sell one particular type of classic in-frame kitchen that comes in any colour, but it means we don’t need to have different door


Mark Fullilove Sanctuary Bathrooms, Leeds


Customers always ask for samples. They aren’t nearly prevalent enough. CGI and AI pictures just don’t cut it. If you can’t show the real product, samples are the closest thing to it


> September 2024 kbbreview 49


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