Letters | COMMENT AND OPINION
Turn the page for
PRODUCTS & SUPPLIERS
Demand is ‘defi nitely there’ for experiential retail...
I WOULD LIKE to com - ment on the points made by Nick Glynne at Better Bathrooms about experiential retail [see Interview, pgs 54-56]. Having visited more than 130 high-street retailers and run a successful showroom for 15 years, I believe Nick Glynne’s statement could not be further from the truth. Very few high-street retailers have different shareholders or boardroom mission statements, most are owner-operated retailers offering extensive additional value for end users by comparison with online retailers. These include: • Site visits to measure up and quite often throughout the fi tting process;
• Product displays for the end user to touch and see the quality of what they are spending their hard-earned money on;
• Room settings with good lighting for customers to stand in and imagine what their fi nished bathroom will be like;
• Realistic CAD design services from skilled bathroom designers who can advise on what’s possible and which products suit the room layout best;
• Tiles, fi tting services and seeing the job through from start to fi nish;
• Most sell high-quality European brands, not low-priced, disposable, low-quality products imported from China. The demand is most defi nitely there for high-street
retailers and I believe it is growing, as more and more end users revert to the high-street having had bad experiences buying unbranded bathroom goods online. Bathrooms are the most complicated room in the house to remodel. They are so easy to get wrong without specialist advice. You only have to look at the return rates of products from online retailers, which is far greater than that of any high-street operation. So does the high-street retailer really not generate added value? I believe low-end online retail is quite a simple-to-set-up and operate business model, provided you have the capital,
DD
DOMESTIC APPLIANCE DISTRIBUTORS
DOMESTIC APPLIANCE DISTRIBUTORS
@DAD_ONLINE
DOMESTIC APPLIANCE DISTRIBUTORS DAD_ONLINEUK
SEE OUR EXCLUSIVE OFFERS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA!
September 2019 · kbbreview
a Chinese visa, a good e-commerce website with good optimisation and a clever Google Adwords campaign. Most high-street retailers have steady growth and a strong
long-term business model, not boom and bust like a lot of online retailers.
Wayne Lyons, director, Soaks Bathrooms & Drench Showers, Belfast
The showroom’s function is to inspire
TO ANSWER NICK Glynne’s point about experiential retail [see Interview, pgs 54-56], not everyone can visualise what bathroom pieces will look and feel like in situ and when you’re investing in high-quality products, you want to be sure it suits you and your home. Adding the extra touches like lighting, aromas, soft
furnishings and on-site interior designers ensures customers have a much better experience and feel more confi dent in their choices. We have to give customers a reason to spend time
with us, which ultimately comes down to offering both great products and a great experience. If a customer wants to choose from a catalogue, that is fi ne, but some prefer the experience of visiting a showroom to see the product and get advice. Both are valid ways to shop. It just depends on your personal preference. Style is very individual and it will stagnate unless
we experiment with products in different settings, to inspire and give ideas to designers, architects and end users. That is the function of a showroom.
Catherine Treacy, creative director, Versatile Bathrooms + Tiles, Navan, Co Meath, Ireland
Interview: Nick Glynne ‘We’re in a much better position to steal market share than many of our competitors’ pg 54
Focus: Blueprint for a
successful showroom Expert advice on location, ranging, marketing – everything an aspiring retailer needs to know pg 40
Manufacturer profi le: The 1810 Company ‘I set out to build a brand that would become the independents’ choice’ pg 58
WANT TO TELL US YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY? EMAIL THE EDITOR:
rebecca@kbbreview.com
DDDD
DOMESTIC APPLIANCE DISTRIBUTORS
24 HOUR ORDERING ONLINE AT
WWW.DAD-ONLINE.CO.UK
A NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR OF DOMESTIC APPLIANCES
24 HOUR ORDERING ONLINE UK BASED FAMILY BUSINESS
FLEXIBLE AND LARGE DELIVERY FLEET, DELIVERING NATIONWIDE ACROSS UK & IRELAND
MONTHLY SPECIAL OFFERS BOOKLET
CALL OUR SALES TEAM 08448 546 715
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120
