NEWS | Round-up
New categories as entries open for kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2020
THE BIGGEST, longest-running and most prestigious awards event in the kitchen and bathroom industry has opened for entries. The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2020 is in
the 26th year of the event and is open to all retailers and designers of kitchens and bathrooms in the UK and Ireland.
It is completely free to enter and all finalists get to attend the glamorous black tie ceremony for free, too. The closing date for entries is Thursday, November 14, and there will be no extensions after that date. “It’s always so exciting to launch the awards. It’s never been more popular and the number of entries we get jumps every time,” said kbbreview editor Rebecca Nottingham. “Even after all these years, I’m so impressed by the creativity of the designs and the ingenuity of the retailers. I can’t wait to see what comes through this time around.” For the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2020, exciting new categories are being introduced to reflect the changing market. Starting a new retail business is always brave, but the industry constantly needs new ideas to evolve, so for 2020 there are two new categories looking to shine a spotlight on the industry entrepreneurs – New Kitchen Retailer of the Year and New Bathroom Retailer of the Year.
connection between suppliers and retailers. For the vast majority of retailers, the brands they work with are embodied by the rep that visits them in person – they are the experts, trainers, fixers, sounding boards, advisers and friends that help make a retail business thrive.
In 2020, we want to recognise the contribution they make by introducing the Kitchen Supplier Sales Rep of the Year and Bathroom Supplier Sales Rep of the Year categories at the awards.
We are also celebrating the role independent
retailers play in their local area with the Community Champion of the Year award.
“The very best independent kitchen and bathroom
retailers play a massive part in their local community by actively working to help improve the local environment and raising money and awareness for local causes,” said Nottingham. “We want to hear the stories of those retailers who truly understand the importance of thinking local.” But that’s not all. To mark this new category, the four finalists will each receive a substantial donation to a charity of their choice – £500 for the three finalists and £1,000 for the winner. We also want to acknowledge the vital human
Good growth in global appliance sales, says GfK
THE GLOBAL appliance industry is in good shape, according to GfK data for the first six months of 2019, writes Simon King. Despite the challenges of global trade and retailing, the industry is reporting category growth across the main segments of major domestic appliances (MDA) and small domestic appliances (SDA).
In the first half of 2019, the important workhorse categories of laundry and refrigeration both traded well. Norbert Herzog, GfK’s global strategic
insights manager, MDA
(pictured below), said: “In the first half of the year, there was overall value growth of 3.2% in the washing machines category.
“Performance and capacity are long-term drivers in all major markets. This translates into increasingly larger loading capacities in washing machines. As an example, washing machines with 9kg or more capacity grew by 23% globally. “The trend towards steam-supported washing machines grew globally by 64% in the first six months of 2019. Fewer wrinkles, less ironing as well as better hygiene and fewer allergens makes
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steam functionality attractive.” GfK reported that wi-fi and/or NFC smart appliances boosted the market with growth rates of 33% in western Europe and 89% in South-East Asia. Sales in the refrigeration category were up 1.9%. Sales
of A+++
refrigerators in Europe grew by 13% in the first half of 2019. Herzog said: “The trend towards
premium segments and premium design is very evident in refrigeration. The long-term trend towards two, or 3+ door, appliances is continuing. “Appliances with 3+ doors was a
growth engine in Europe, up more than 20% versus January to June 2018. As this segment currently represents about 10% of the current market, there is still room for further growth here.” Appliances combining fridge and
freezer with No Frost technology continued
to be successful and
had the highest impact on market growth – up 5.4% in value terms. Food preparation is the second largest category within SDA and it grew by 9% globally. Liquidisers accounted for 51% of all food-preparation units sold in 2018.
The criteria will not look specifically at sales performance, but rather at how they have gone above and beyond for their retailers and acted as true brand ambassadors. This is a great opportunity for brands to put forward their best people and celebrate the relationships they have with their customers. The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2020 event will be held on Monday, March 2, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole alongside the kbb Birmingham exhibition. To find out all about entering the awards, the categories, judging process and how to book your seats and tables at the event go to www.kbbreview. com/awards. If you’re interested in sponsorship opportunities, contact
tara@taylistmedia.com or call 020 8515 2071.
Sales down 1% but profits up 9% for Masco in Q2
MASCO PRESIDENT and chief executive Keith Allman referred to a “dynamic first half of 2019” as the corporation reported a dip in sales but increased profits for its second quarter. Masco Corporation, which owns such KBB brands as Axor, Bristan,
Hansgrohe and Hüppe, reported group sales for the quarter ended June 30 of $2.27 billion (£1.9bn), which was down 1% on the same quarter last year ($2.29bn). Despite this, it reported operating profits up 9% to $392 million from $358m in Q2 2018. Said Allman: “We delivered operating profit growth and margin expansion
across all segments in the quarter. This performance was achieved through disciplined pricing actions and cost control. We continued our focus on creating shareholder value and returned $202 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends during the quarter.” He added: “We are pleased with how we have navigated through a dynamic first half of 2019, and believe we are well positioned to execute on our plans in the second half of the year. We anticipate adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.62 to $2.72. Additionally, our board demonstrated confidence in our future by announcing its intention to raise our annual dividend 13% to $0.54 per share beginning in the fourth quarter.” Breaking the results down by sector, we find that all of its operating
segments – Plumbing, Cabinetry, Decorative Architectural Products and Windows and other Speciality Products – showed sales dips over Q2 2018, but with Plumbing one of only two to see an uplift in profits. For Plumbing,
which encompasses the KBB companies mentioned above, Masco reported that global sales were down from $1.03bn to $1.01bn and that operating profits had risen
from $194m to $198m. kbbreview · September 2019
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