FOCUS | Brexit
manufacturers, so the day-to-day impli- cations of a no-deal scenario would have been felt more by these subsidiaries. The potential effect on our business, however, would have been price increases (caused by tariffs) and, more signifi cantly, delays caused by customs complications. “As Q4 of 2020 progressed, we started to consider the potential ‘double-dunt’ of a no-deal Brexit and lockdown-led stock shortfalls. The prospect was unimaginable for all sectors and, I’m sure, forced the hand of UK and the EU to grow up and secure a trade deal.”
He concluded: “The fact that a free trade deal has been hammered out, with no tariffs or customs diffi culties, is the main thing for the KBB sector. On that basis, Brexit is unlikely to hugely affect our industry in the short to medium term at least. There could be hidden, unanticipated dangers, but we will deal with these as they arise.” Kristjan James
Lilley, sales manager at H Lilley & Co in London, is also upbeat. He says: “Brexit has been a very long and exhausting discussion and I am pleased it is over and look forward to trading
as usual. I am
positive that if we can put the next issue, which is Covid, behind us, then it should be a prosperous year.” Ian Coghill, a director at Riddle and Coghill in Edinburgh, is also positive and advises honesty with customers on the subject: “A deal has been done, we are all working many weeks ahead of ourselves and can, to an extent, warn clients about the possible upcoming diffi culties/shortages. Honesty is still the best policy and hiding information we know about from clients will lead to a bad relationship that causes ill feeling. Be upfront and explain the industry issues before they bite – that way clients are a lot more understanding.”
Nathan Damarell, proprietor of KF Kitchens in Plymouth, says his only concerns are about the unknown: “As an industry, we have not had time to plan, as we did not know what to plan for. I think lots of
of kitchen retailers responding said they had bought appliances online to complete orders
97%
companies became apathetic with regard to Brexit, with the pandemic dominating our short-term plans. We will have to do what is needed and hope our larger, global
suppliers can limit
the damage.” Many of our kbbreview100
retailers still fear that, with kitchen appliance shortages an ongoing concern, supply chain issues may continue or even be exacerbated by our leaving the EU.
93%
were worried about product shortages post-Brexit
Appliance shortages Our survey showed that 97% of kitchen retailers were worried about kitchen appliance supply issues and 85% of bathroom retailers had fears over supply problems for sanitaryware, sinks and taps. Under new rules, goods entering the EU from England, Scotland and Wales face new paperwork and checks, including: customs declarations, rule of original checks and product safety certifi cation. Around four million lorries pass through Dover, Calais and the Channel Tunnel every year. To help alleviate any problems, the UK Government is delaying full control on goods entering the UK from the EU for a further six months, although goods entering the EU from the UK are subject to full checks. Retailers’ concerns over supply chain
issues are echoed by British Retail Con - sortium policy advisor William Bain, who comments: “This is the biggest imposition of red tape that businesses have had to deal with in 50 years.”
Our kbbreview100 retailer survey in December last year showed that 75% of respondents believed supply shortages would be the biggest challenge the industry faced during 2021. New red tape that could impede the fl ow of goods into the UK will do little to allay those fears.
Larger manufacturers may have teething problems, but supply should not be an issue
Kristjan James Lilley, sales manager, H Lilley & Co
The Covid pandemic closed some factories for a while and manufacturers have been playing catch-up, further caught out by the upsurge in demand that followed the fi rst national lockdown. So will Brexit
make that situation even worse? Hibbert at KSL says: “It will be a learning
curve for us all, as many suppliers that import kitchen products do not seem to know what the impact will be. The market is already experiencing delays on deliveries due to the pandemic and the recent port closures. We may experience issues with getting spares in good time in the future, as it will not be viable for these to be delivered ad hoc when required, as they are now.”
Miller at Scope Bathrooms also ack - nowledges
these supply issues: “The
backlog of deliveries into the UK in Q4 of 2020 led to enormous supply chain issues. This was caused by the ports being overwhelmed and a return to boom far earlier than anticipated by the manufacturers and importer brands. An over-reliance on furlough payments also proved to be damaging, with support staff out of the loop and unable to infl uence the sourcing and planning process. For business, Brexit has been overshadowed by these other debacles.” Coghill at Riddle and Coghill believes that kitchen appliance supply problems are one of the biggest issues the industry has faced for years, but says we can’t entirely blame Brexit or Covid: “What is of concern is the lack of ability of some major appliance suppliers to manage their order intake systems to supply on a just-in-time basis. If you can give them a 10- or 12-week lead time for an order, one would think they could pre-allocate or plan to have it by the time you need it. They can’t – they either don’t care or haven’t got their IT systems running effectively. This is the biggest issue I have come across in the industry for years.” He continues: “We are taking stock in immediately and sitting on it until we eventually get the furniture, sometimes for months, just to ensure we have it. This means others who are desperate for appliances to fi nish jobs off can’t get the stock. These suppliers need to sort the problem out. It isn’t all down to Brexit or Covid – they have been very lax over the years and a lack of competition means they can get away with poor service and customer satisfaction. We are, after all, their customers as well.”
Victoria Anderson, kitchen manager at
28
· February 2021
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