FOCUS | Covid-19: One year on


With retailers forced to adapt to showroom closures and new ways of trading, they tell us what lessons they have learnt


T


he number one change for retailers was their showrooms closing and learning, without


much warning, about how to run design appointments via Zoom, remotely manage a team and organise installations from home. Although the industry is known for product innovation, the way that retailers work has not drastically changed for many years. A common lesson learnt was that you have to adapt quickly. Nick McNally, proprietor of Kitchens By Nick McNally in Edinburgh, thinks: “It is important to adapt to situations outwith your control. Be a doer in a world full of talkers.” By contrast, Luke Wedgbury, managing director at Coalville Kitchens, takes a more measured approach to be calm and act once you have surveyed the situation. He says: “The biggest lesson has been able to learn that in a crisis, it’s imperative to respond and not react. I saw so many business owners panic and set about doing things that cost them in the long run.” The ability to be fl exible was also a key takeaway as you very rarely knew what was going to happen from one week to the next. One press conference from the PM could turn a month on its head. Martina Landhed, director of InStil Design in Oxford, simply puts it: “Persevere and be fl exible, believe in yourself, your team and what you offer.” Jim Geddes, proprietor of JS Geddes in Kilmarnock, realised how important the mental health of his team is. And Graham Robinson,


Wigmore Street showroom manager at Halcyon Interiors, has slowed down


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this year to take more time and not make everything urgent – and this includes when he is speaking to his team. Dave Jarvis, managing director of Albion Bathrooms Kitchens Electricals in Burton on Trent, says he has learnt a lot about himself as a business owner. “From this experience, I’ve learnt that I have the sheer willpower and persistence to try and ensure that my company will survive this.”


Time to refl ect


Many retailers took this time, especially in the fi rst lockdown, where everything was at a standstill, to refl ect on their business as a whole.


Nathan Damarell, proprietor of KF Kitchens in Plymouth, had this experience: “The benefi ts of being able to step back and consider what I could do during the fi rst lockdown gave a clarity to my thinking. The use of the break to think clearly, re-energise myself and then the business, was enlightening.” Nearly all of the retailers we spoke with said that they revamped their social media and websites


during this time. As their


physical store was closed, it became a priority to make sure their online showroom was looking its best.


Persevere and be fl exible, believe in yourself, your team and what you offer


Others took the time to do refurbish their showroom, as they could remodel without having to work around customer appointments. John Pelosi, proprietor of Caldicot Kitchen and Bathroom Centre, says: “We’re looking to enhance the showroom


experience and


Martina Landed, director, InStil Design, Oxfordshire


make more of it. People are fed up with zoom calls and a lack of human interaction. Our showrooms can become a sanctuary for them – an oasis


It is important to adapt to situations outwith your control and to be a doer in a world full of talkers


Nick McNally, owner, Kitchens By Nick McNally


of normality in a desert of insanity.” There has been a sense of unity throughout the whole country. The KBB industry has done a variety of things to pull through together. At Taylist Media, kbbreview has been posting free online job ads as part of our Save our Skills campaign – in association with Quooker – as we want to help the industry retain valuable skills and people. Once retail opened again, our sister consumer title Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms launched the Close to Home initiative on its website These Three Rooms, which encouraged consumers to buy from their local independent retailer. Helen Lord, the founder of Used Kitchen Ex - change, explains how she was inspired by the


way the KBB industry came together across the board. She says: “The importance of umbrella


organisations such as BiKBBi,


KBSA and the buying groups who worked tirelessly to support the industry, came to the fore, while the unprecedented Saddle Up Scheme by Fisher and Paykel and kbbreview’s Save our Skills’ campaigns brought a real sense of community spirit and lifelong friendships have been made. I haven’t seen this happen in any other business sector.” We may still be in the grip of the pandemic, but now we have a ‘roadmap’ out. We still have a long ‘drive’ ahead and time to refl ect and take stock of what we have learnt over the past 12 months. The industry has come together and learnt


to adapt and be fl exible. There have been rough times, but hopefully, we will all come through this together.


· April 2021


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