NEWS | Round-up NEWS IN BRIEF
• Q4 2020 figures from the Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) show the sector continuing to recover following the dramatic decline after lockdown in Q2 that year. Q3 figures were already strong, but the BMBI reported total builders merchant sales up 5.4% in Q4 2020 compared with the same quarter in 2019.
• Imperial Bathrooms has launched a new international website as part of its global growth strategy. The site includes catalogues for its overseas customers and contacts for all future export enquiries.
• Fisher and Paykel has moved its UK headquarters from Milton Keynes to a new 59,000 ft2 property in Northamptonshire. The new HQ has a variety of sustainable elements including solar panels, water recovery and an energy rating of A 22.
• Victoria + Albert has relaunched its website with a number of features that are aimed at consumers looking for design inspiration. Its showroom partners can also benefit from better technical information on the new site.
• As part of a wider sustainability campaign, Moores is aiming to reduce its fuel consumption and its carbon footprint by buying four plug-in hybrid electric cars. With these new additions, Hybrid vehicles now make up 25% of the brand’s entire fleet.
• TKC has published a new look brochure for its Jigsaw brand of complete kitchens, which includes full details of its enhanced 2021 product portfolio.
• To show its commitment to the environement, Kaldewei has entered a long-term partnership with environmental conservation organisation WWF. It says: “Eco-friendly operations don’t end with delivery”.
• Harrison Bathrooms has been approved to supply its Scudo range to BathCom. The online community of independent bathroom retailers in the BathCom network will have access to Scudo’s full range of products as part of the new partnership.
• Haier has been identified as one of the ‘fastest growing Chinese Companies in the UK’ by Euromonitor. Haier has been ranked as the No.1 Global Major Appliance Brand for 12 consecutive years.
Smallbone re-establishes USA showroom presence
BESPOKE KITCHEN and furniture maker Smallbone is opening a new showroom in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. Smallbone is also planning to follow this up with another showroom in New York later this year.
The Connecticut showroom is located at 45 East Putnam Avenue, at the heart of the Greenwich Design District, where it is surrounded by design showrooms, art galleries and busy restaurants. Offering a dedicated design team, VIP service and five-star hospitality, the new Smallbone showroom will provide customised whole-home furniture solutions. Commenting on the move, Ron Shemesh, president value creation officer at Lux Group Holdings, parent company of Smallbone of Devizes, Mark Wilkinson and McCarron & Co, said: “The launch of our new Smallbone Greenwich Showroom is an exciting new project – a design hub servicing the West Coast and surrounding area for all-home furniture design projects. Our dedicated designers are on hand to provide a bespoke and customised service, adding value to any private or large-scale development projects. Whatever the requirements are, Smallbone has exquisite furniture collections – we design for any room in the home. We look forward to presenting our design-led, innovative and personalised offering.” Although Smallbone closed its New York showroom two years ago, the company has remained active in the US with major private residential and large development projects.
Häcker invests in a new factory after ‘excellent’ growth in 2020 sales
GERMAN KITCHEN brand Häcker is celebrating “an excellent result” as figures for the 2020 full year show a growth in sales of 4.9% to €646 million (£538m). The company also created 94 new jobs at its Rödinghausen base, where it currently has 1,855 employees. Exports also grew slightly and now account for around 37% of sales. Häcker said
that with its Rödinghausen plant approaching
capacity, it had to bring its new factory in Venne in the Osnabrück region on line ahead of schedule. The new Venne facility has a total of 212,000sq m and Häcker says that the cutting-edge plant will be used for the production of the Systemat and SystematART ranges. During 2020, the company used its in-house exhibition in September to showcase its new Systemat 3.0 collection. Said head of sales, marketing and controlling, Markus Sander:
“With Systemat 3.0, we are offering our customers a fantastic package. An expanded range of services in the Systemat system at an attractive price – this offer opens up new opportunities for specialist dealers and provides consumers with many more options for their own dream kitchen.”
Häcker also launched an online showroom so that visitors could explore the range virtually. The company attributed part of its success and its export sales boost in 2020 to the introduction of the new Dark Steel series to its line-up of built-in appliances, manufactured for Häcker by Blaupunkt and h|tech.
The company is also celebrating its entire product portfolio being awarded the climate neutral label by the German Fokus Zukunft institute.
Commenting on the company’s commitment to various environmental and social projects, managing partner Jochen Finkemeier said: “Häcker thinks and acts in terms of sustainability. We have implemented many measures that allow us to make a valuable contribution to people and nature.”
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(left to right): Jake Gilmore, John Giles, Edward Lomas and Sophie Wardle-Hall
HiB signs up four recruits to new apprenticeship scheme
BATHROOM SUPPLIER HiB has launched a new apprenticeship programme as part of the HiB Academy scheme it introduced last year. The apprenticeship scheme is aimed to new and existing employees of HiB and will cover various aspects of the business, including the warehouse, operations and supply chain. Training is now under way for four apprentices - Jake Gilmore, John Giles, Edward Lomas and Sophie Wardle-Hall.
Edward Lomas who, along with the other three in this cohort, will achieve a Level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse qualification over the next 12 months. Joining new recruit Lomas on this intake is existing HiB staff member and inbound operative John Giles plus outbound operatives Sophie Wardle-Hall and Jake Gilmore.
The new apprenticeships are among a number of training and skills development opportunities offered to new and existing employees at HiB. The company said it hopes to expand the programme in the future and recruit more apprentices to join the scheme.
· April 2021
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