NEWS | Round-up EXCLUSIVE


A fifth of retailers admit to opening showrooms despite lockdown rules


JUST OVER a fifth of KBB retailers admitted to opening their showrooms during recent lockdowns despite Government restrictions stating non-essential retail had to close, a kbbreview survey has revealed.


The shocking results show that, rather than deliberately breaking the law, many retailers simply didn’t understand the rules.


The majority of retailers that admitted to opening their showrooms during periods of national lockdown said that they did so because they supply the trade – which had been classed as essential by the Government – and so continued working through lockdowns on an ‘appointment-only’ basis, while adhering to strict safety guidelines. However, kitchen and bathroom showrooms were not allowed to open to anyone – whether they were trade or consumer. Equally, opening by-appointment-only was also illegal during most of the lockdowns.


Several retailers admitted to opening their showrooms because they felt it was unfair that independents were forced to close when national DIY chains were allowed to open as they were seen as supplying mainly tradespeople.


One retailer said: “We opened by appointment only and for essential supply. Other companies were doing the same and the sheds were even advertising product.”


Industry fights ruling that will make most radiators illegal to sell from 2022


A RECENT Brexit ruling not to allow the transfer of CE Mark test certificates means it will no longer be legal to sell the majority of radiators currently in UK showrooms from January 2022. The ruling was described as “absurd and impractical” in a statement from the Manufacturers Association of Radiators and Convectors (MARC). The new law also means that products will need to be retested to prove they conform to the new UKCA mark, despite the fact, said MARC, that European tests are identical to the UK standard EN442. This, it said, “merely places impractical and costly barriers for the industry”. Following the UK’s departure from the EU, members of MARC have joined forces to challenge the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, on this ruling, which could mean UK homeowners will be unable to purchase and install new or replacement radiators from January 2022.


MARC head of external affairs Isaac Occhipinti has written a letter to Jenrick, signed by its members, in which he said: “Since changes to CE


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marking were announced, the radiator industry has been working with the understanding that for existing products a transfer of test certificates would be possible. We have since been informed that this is not the case, even though the European standard tests are identical to the UK standard EN442. As it stands, in order for products to start using the new UKCA mark, they will need to be completely retested using a UK test lab. “There are currently thousands of radiator products on sale in the UK with a valid CE mark. But, there is only one test laboratory in the UK. Even with a heroic effort, they will only ever be able to test a very small percentage of radiators currently legally on sale in the UK. It will be impossible for all products to be tested by the 2022 deadline. The industry now faces the reality that the majority of radiators on sale in the UK will be without a ‘valid’ test certificate, in a few months’ time, and therefore unable to be sold legally.


“This ruling does nothing to improve standards as the European and UK criteria are the same. It merely places impractical and costly barriers for the industry.”


· June 2021


Others said that they continued to open by appointment only – during lockdowns – because their showrooms were not in high-street locations and so had limited footfall. However, some retailers admitted that they knew showrooms should be closed but admitted that they needed to keep their business afloat. “It was the only way we could take payments if our clients wanted to pay by credit card,” one said. “Also some


clients wanted to come to the showroom to see samples and finalise their choices. We dropped samples off to clients but some wanted to see the full range we had to offer and this was the only way they could do this.” The Government began implementing lockdowns across the UK last March to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The last lockdowns were put in place in January this year and lasted until April – when retailers got the green light to open after restrictions were lifted as the UK’s Covid exit roadmap was put into play. Although what these restrictions meant for KBB showrooms was sometimes misleading and open to interpretation, by the time of the second lockdown in November 2020 the Government had included KBB showrooms on its list of non-essential retail and they were ordered to close. The online survey was carried out with a sample of 232 KBB retailers answering anonymously.


Riverrock seeks co-investor for Alno after successful 2020


ALNO OWNER Riverrock is looking for a co-investor to evaluate “possible future strategic options” for the German kitchen manufacturer. Riverrock said in a statement that, despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, Alno increased its sales during 2020 by 62%, thereby successfully achieving its intermediate goals.


Alno said it has planned investments in IT systems and production facilities to help it retain its international reputation for innovative kitchen concepts and that these steps would shape the future of the company in the medium to long term. Riverrock said that it intended to take these next steps together with a future owner/co-investor.


Under the leadership of joint managing directors Jochen Braun and Michael Spadinger, the company says it has recruited well-known industry specialists and taken on sales partners in all of its target markets.


Riverrock rescued Alno after it went into administration in 2018. At the time, Riverrock portfolio manager Jason Carley said: “Alno is a well-known, excellent quality kitchen brand in Germany that produces a good product and is one of the biggest employers in the region where it operates.


“Its financial problems had nothing to do with the kitchens they make. It was all to do with the complicated financial structure of the company and mismanagement. “The administration allowed the assets to be acquired debt-free.”


Joint MDs Jochen Braun and Michael Spadinger


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