FOCUS | The year ahead


‘A clear desire for integrated living spaces’


Howard Bogod, MD of Elica distributor DR Kitchen


Appliances, says working


Pronorm kitchen in matt lacquer grey-green and gloss super white


‘Q2: we’ll all be in a stronger


position to increase sales’ Richard Turner, Pronorm national sales manager for UK and Ireland, advises retailers to stay positive and is optimistic for the year ahead


Q & A Q: What do you think will be the main


challenges going forward? A: The first quarter of the year will bring the most challenges as all businesses find their feet and the ‘new norm’ and procedures are established for importing goods into the UK post-Brexit. Covid will be an ongoing factor and tier restrictions may prove challenging for some businesses. However, the vaccine brings confidence for business and consumers to pick up normal life, and from the second quarter onwards, everyone will be in a stronger position to increase sales and make up for lost time in 2020.


Q: What is your advice for retailers to make sure they thrive in the coming year? A: Stay positive and continue to work with suppliers


to get through the Brexit transition period as smoothly as possible. Wherever you can,


build in some slack and manage your customers’ expectations to ensure they remain realistic.


Q: How would you rate your confidence in business over the year ahead out of 10 and why? A: I’d give it an 8 out of 10. At Pronorm, we’re optimistic for the year ahead. We had a very strong last quarter for 2020 and we have a good forward order book for Q1 of 2021. With our new product range, combined with the growing consumer demand for life to ‘get back to normal’ as much as possible, I think we’re in a positive position.


Q: How will Brexit affect the year ahead? A: Pronorm is ready and, like many of our retailers, we’re keen to get on with business. We export to many countries throughout the world, so it’s really no different from what we do elsewhere. Brexit may initially cause some slight delays, but we’ve stocked up and are in a good position to maintain continuity of supply to the UK.


and cooking at home will continue to fuel sales


steady growth as more impor- tance is placed on remodelling the kitchen as the heart of the home. We are seeing more home cooking as fewer people are dining out.


W


In the first half of 2021, Brexit and continued tier restrictions may result in reduced footfall to showrooms. For retailers, we strongly advocate more online promotion through social media and their own websites, together with the use of video meetings with clients to reduce the time taken to reach a decision on the design process and gain a quicker commitment to proceed. Our confidence in the market going forward is high – 9 out of 10, thanks to consumers looking to invest in their properties. There is a clear desire for bigger, integrated living spaces combining kitchen, eating and sitting. We will continue to see a strong and growing demand for integrated appliances, with extractor hobs becoming increasingly common, along with ceiling hoods as a lighting feature.


expect to continue seeing


Elica hob with downdraft extractor


in good shape’ John Schofield, sales and marketing director at JT, is optimistic but recognises hurdles in terms of supply chain and rising unemployment


Q & A Q: Where do you think the


industry will go over the next 12 to 24 months? A: The market is in good shape and the momentum looks


certain to


carry us through the first quarter at least. Confidence should come from the fact that house builders have


34


Q: What do you think will be the main challenges going forward? A: In the short term, there is still the


very strong sales, with some having sold their allocation through to August.


Of course, there are a


number of macro issues, such as Brexit, and the sad fact that people are losing jobs, which is likely to have an impact in the longer term.


‘The market is


challenge of getting products – whether this is UK manufacturing, such as ourselves, where the uplift after shutdown and subsequent increased demand meant that despite running 24 hours a day, lead times have had to be pushed out. For imported product, the challenge has been just as, if not more, of a challenge, with pinch points running through the supply chain. This start to ease as the shipping demand calms down after Christmas and factories catch up.


Q: What is your advice for retailers for the coming year? A: Retailers have had to adapt over what was an extremely challenging 2020, not just in terms of volumes, but also trying to interpret the


‘essential’ or ‘non-essential’ shops conversation. The retailers I see being successful are those that add value to the process – be it design, installation or high level of service.


Q: How would you rate your con- fidence in business out of 10? A: I’m an optimistic person and put my confidence at a 7 or 8.


Q: What will be the main areas for growth product-wise? A: The shower tray sector continues to grow as people are replacing baths and the majority of refurb- ishments tend


to include an


additional bathroom. Increasing demand for trays has also been driven by more consumers moving to showering to save water.


· January 2021


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