NEWS | Round-up NEWS IN BRIEF
• 2020 has released a new version of its kitchen and bathroom design software, Fusion. Fusion v8 has additional features and functions to help improve the daily experience of designers.
• Following the death of founder and chairman Hans Strothoff MHK has appointed Werner Heilos as its new chairman. Strothoff had a long and successful career before founding the buying group MHK in 1980.
• Kitchen retailer Kutchenhaus has opened its 36th UK showroom in Petersfield. The co-owners of the new store in Petersfield, Hampshire, Andy Barwell and Peter Turner already have two franchises to their name, making this their third opening in three years.
• British shower manufacturer Kudos is pressing ahead with its £650,000 investment plan with the opening of a new 60,000sq ft warehouse facility in Sandbach, Cheshire.
• Norcros Group has reported that despite Q1 revenues being down 38% on last year, sales rose in Q2 to 104% on a like-for-like basis.
• The Kingfisher group, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, has delivered “resilient” results for the six months to July 31, with retail profits up 17.4% year on year and overall pre-tax profits up 62.4%.
• America’s National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) has announced that its Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) will now be fully virtual. It will take place online during the second week in February 2021 and will offer a range of interactive and immersive events.
• BC Designs, has pledged its support to its retailer network by increasing its stock levels by 50%. Demand across the entire KBB sector has soared since lockdown and the new stock levels give its retail partners opportunity to meet the needs of their customers.
• Bathroom retailer Ripples has launched Kind – a range of body and home products that are vegan, natural and ethically made in the UK. The range of luxury products aims to elevate the Ripples brand and expose it to a wider audience.
• CAD specialist Compusoft has launched a new Product Navigator to help showrooms upsell by allowing products to be searched and compared easily.
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Ex-BCT employees set up The Branded Tile Company
EX-BRITISH CERAMIC Tile (BCT) employees have created The Branded Tile Company.
BCT was one of the largest UK tile manufacturers and ceased production in January 2019, with around 380 employees being made redundant at the time. The BCT name lives on with new owners Al-Murad Tiles, which bought BCT’s intellectual property in August 2019, which included its website, tile designs and customer list. The Branded Tile Company will focus on branded tiles that will be made in collaboration with UK designers. It is currently working with the Victoria & Albert Museum and producing some of their classic designs. The goal is to expand the V&A collection and introduce other big fashion interior brand names. John Chater, founder and managing director of the Branded Tile Company, worked at BCT from 2017 to 2018 as commercial director. While at BCT, he saw an opportunity with its branded tiles, which were big sellers for the company, and decided to create The Branded Tile Company.
Chater said: “BCT did a really good
job with V&A, but they left it in the box. That’s where I saw the opportunity. V&A could be four times the size it was at BCT. It was, at the time, just about a £1 million brand at BCT but it could be a multimillion-pound range. Providing it has the right designs and is marketed correctly.”
There has been a quality upgrade of the BCT tiles from ceramic to porcelain. “We want good quality products, but with differentiation and a story in the marketplace. That is what
FIESTA and the BMA join forces
THE FURNITURE and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (Fiesta) is now working with the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) to help address education and training issues within the KBB industry.
Fiesta already works with key KBB
associations, such as the British Institute of KBB Installation (BiKBBI), the KBSA and The Kitchen Education Trust (TKET). The BMA’s chief executive, Tom Reynolds, will join the Fiesta executive.
Reynolds said: “People and skills are key to the long- term sustainability of the bathroom sector. [The Government’s] Kickstart [scheme] can help introduce a new generation to bathroom manufacturing roles and Fiesta’s Skills Plus service can help BMA members access that scheme. I’m looking forward to working with Gary and the team on the many other aspects of the skills agenda.” Gary Baker (pictured), chairman of Fiesta, said: “Fiesta is about putting skills at the top of the agenda and helping the whole UK furniture and interiors industry recruit and retain the best talent on offer. We are therefore absolutely delighted to welcome into Fiesta the ‘voice of the bathroom industry’ in Tom Reynolds and his proactive team at the Bathroom Manufacturers Association.”
Fiesta has been encouraging those wanting to use the Government’s Kickstart scheme to work with its Skills Plus service to take advantage of the initiative.
customers and retailers are looking for,” said Chater.
Joining Chater is Claire O’Brien. She is head of ceramics design, and was previously head of design at BCT. Marcus Wilkinson is head of procurement, and he held the same role at BCT.
The rest of the team is made up of Clive Daley, who has worked in the home improvement sector for 30 years, and Alice Rawson, a junior designer.
Aqata acquired by AQ Group
BRITISH SHOWER manufacturer Aqata has been acquired by the AQ Group backed by private investment company Intrinsic Equity.
The move means the brand – based in Hinckley Leicestershire – will now sit alongside other well-known British shower brand, Aqualux, which the company acquired from Dutch bathroom group Fetim late last year.
According to a statement, the two shower brands will continue to operate independently and will be run by AQ Group’s team from its new group headquarters in Leicestershire.
It also confirmed that there have been no job losses as part of the deal and, in fact, said it anticipates a recruitment drive going forward. Aqata MD and owner Jayne Barnes has retired from the business.
Commenting on the acquisition, AQ Group CEO Steve Lee said: “We are delighted to be able to take this bold, strategic move during such unprecedented times. Aqata has been part of the fabric of the British shower industry since it was established by Peter Brown in 1986. We are proud to have the opportunity to continue the great work of MD and owner Jayne Barnes who headed up Aqata for over 15 years following her father’s retirement in 2005.
“For many years we have admired what the Aqata brand represents to the independent bathroom retail market, the products are excellent and backed by a world class service.”
· November 2020
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