NEWS | Round-up VIEWPOINT Thinking green is
good for business Retailer and KBSA national chair Richard Hibbert says it’s time for KBB retailers to decide where they stand on the issue of sustainability in the future
Orders flood in as KBB retailers reopen after Covid lockdown
KBB RETAILERS across the UK have reported a sudden rush of enquiries since they reopened their showrooms. The kbbreview100, our think tank of KBB retailers nationwide, said they had seen a noticeable increase in demand.
AS WE CELEBRATE World Environment Day this month (June 5), it is a good time for KBB showrooms to consider their own approach to sustainability. Climate change has moved up the agenda for everyone and many studies show that consumers want to take into consideration the environmental impact of their purchases. However, a recent paper from the European Parliament Think Tank reported a gap between consumers’ good intentions and their actual behaviour. This happens because sustainability is not the only thing consumers consider. They are also influenced by price, availability and convenience, habits, values, social norms and peer pressure, emotional appeal, and the feeling of making a difference.
This is something that we have found in our own
Consumers want to choose
sustainable products but won’t sacrifice performance
showroom. Consumers do want to choose sustainable products and will be willing to pay a little more for efficiency and longevity, but are not willing to sacrifice performance or design. Happily we do have access to manu facturers that have developed innovative products that can meet this brief. We also try to demonstrate our own commitment to the environ- ment by incorporating water- and energy-saving appliances in our showroom, and adopting envi - ron mental habits in the running of our business. To demonstrate our commit- ment, we have installed the Toto Washlet toilets in our showroom,
so customers can experience the quality and performance as well as see our own commitment to saving the planet. It provides environmentally-friendly cleansing with warm water, which reduces the need for using toilet paper and uses less electricity and water. It saves trees and reduces energy usage by 35% and water consumption by around 60% per person per year. Other manufacturers now have similar products. The TwistFlush from Villeroy and Boch, for instance, uses a swirling water system that means a family can save up to 19,700 litres of water per year. While we all have a moral duty to play our part in saving the planet, there are sound business reasons for making environmentally-friendly decisions in the running of our business. Not only are we keeping abreast of market trends, but we can also gain more sales by offering consumers the advice and information they want to make their purchases. The KBSA helps its retail members by providing access to corporate members that take sustainability seriously. We recently welcomed the Government’s Right to Repair legislation, which means kitchen appliances should last longer, be
cheaper to run,
thereby reducing the 1.5 million tonnes of electrical waste generated in the UK each year.
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A lot of the increase experienced was down to pent-up demand. Ian Coghill, a director at Riddle and Coghill in Edinburgh, said: “We are dealing with an influx of clients, but that is down to people who haven’t been able to finalise their designs or projects. “We have, in essence, been closed for six months in the past year and we now have one year’s worth of clients as an industry trying to get everything done in a six-month time frame. Only time will tell if the so-called ‘stay at home’ renovation boom is, in fact, a boom.” Ciaran Leyne, director at Trilogy Designs in London, said he has seen a lot of enquiries, and people appear to be shopping around more and looking for comparison quotes. He said: “Presently, we are experiencing a flood of enquiries. How many of these are converted to orders remains to be seen. But we are very optimistic about future orders.”
As well as increased demand, customers are generally wanting their designs fitted quicker, according to Joe Mühl, managing
director of contracts and commercial projects at Ocean Bathrooms in Dorset and London. He said: “More people are wanting to start the process and complete the process quicker. But these people don’t need the service or installation and would have bought online.” Tony Passmore, CEO and MD of Passmore Group in Leeds, certainly noticed an increase in orders since the roadmap was announced. Passmore has even had to add to its design team to keep up with the increased demand. Passmore said: “To be honest, this started as soon as Boris announced his roadmap. March was ahead of budgets, as was April. We believe May will be a record month for orders.” Although James Roberts, director of Sanctuary Bathrooms, also in Leeds, has seen an increase in demand, he is wary of the demand slowing as the country opens up. He said: “As normality slowly returns, people will want to spend time with family, go on holidays, and be less tied to their homes, so demand may start to shift. So we could see a lull now and then a resurgence towards the end of the year.”
A couple of retailers said they’d had a steady stream of orders or enquiries but had not been flooded with customers or seen more customers compared with before lockdown.
Welsh distributor Faucets to help drive Meir growth in UK
SOUTH WALES-BASED bathroom supplier Faucets has been appointed as the exclusive distribution partner for premium Australian tap brand Meir in the UK and Ireland.
In a statement, Meir said this collaboration would help drive its plans for growth in the UK and Ireland.
The partnership will be overseen by the newly-appointed managing director of Meir UK, Paul Caneparo, who has over 30 years of experience in the bathroom industry. Speaking about his appointment and Meir’s partnership with Faucets, Caneparo said: “I’m extremely privileged to join Meir at such a pivotal time in its expansion in the UK. Faucets will be instrumental in reshaping our dealer footprint and the expansion of the brand and I’m very excited to announce the launch of a new range of premium products designed specifically for our UK customers.” Faucets will offer an exclusive range of Meir’s premium products and accessories in five of its most popular and premium finishes, including electroplated matt black, polished chrome, ‘tiger bronze’, champagne and its latest offering, brushed nickel. “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to partner with Meir,” added
Faucets managing director Darren Taylor. “The quality of the products fits perfectly in our portfolio and offers our customers a fantastic solution. These are exciting times for everyone connected and we look forward to working with the team at Meir.”
Meir chief executive Rick Bazerghi added:
“We are very proud to be partnering with such a well-regarded, independent and passionate company. It was important we selected a partner that shared the same values in terms of customer service and brand ethos, which is why we are confident that Faucets is the best long-term partner for Meir and our customers.”
· June 2021
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