COMMENT AND OPINION


TKC CEO Roy Saunders on how his business has weathered lockdown and how retailers are adapting to the ‘new normal’


ORDER restored


o how is everyone? I’ve been focused personally on trying to restore some normality to family life, including a recent holiday. However, I spent the subsequent two weeks working at home driving Mrs Saunders mad and strangely nobody at TKC seemed to miss me too much.


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I’ve been a big fan of the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out campaign, even if my waistline wasn’t. I’m not really sure it was in step with the obesity and fitness initiative, but we’re living in a contradictory world. We’ll be paying this back for years to come, but protecting the economy and supporting local businesses is an absolute must. I’m really encouraged by continued business levels and those reported by our customers. Social distancing and lockdown has meant any kitchen enquiry is a real one and retailers are spending their time on serious customers with budgets to spend, particularly if holidays have been cancelled. Our online ordering platform is proving hugely popular and the inner geek in me loves looking at the ordering patterns. We’re seeing more and more orders between 6pm and midnight as customers make the most of the day from a sales point of view, catching up on the months lost due to lockdown. Managing any business through this time is presenting challenges never seen before. A few months ago, you


I have seen passion and commitment in my staff and I’m very proud of them


were concerned with holidays for furloughed staff and then, as business levels rise, you are ensuring you’ve enough staff to cope. The key here is to be flexible and agile in an environment that’s changing virtually every day. For every winner, though, there’s always a loser and I’ve been sad to read of so many redundancies in our industry, particularly on the sales front. Well done to kbbreview’s Save our Skills campaign in providing a visible platform for these people to find new employment. I can’t help but feel that those businesses making mass redundancies will be questioning their sales performance in three to six months. Sport has thankfully returned to television and I’ve found the lack of crowd attendance and participation both strange and fascinating in equal measure and I hope it’s not the ‘new normal’. Frank Lampard might regret his rant at the Liverpool bench but I loved seeing the passion of it. Passion and commitment are a huge part of what I’m seeing in my staff during these unusual times and I’m very proud of them. I’m also proud of how we’re adapting and the number of initiatives we’ve launched to support our customers. Independent retailers have had to change their working patterns and how they manage their business with no previous experience to draw on.


It’s amazing to see how quickly and well this has happened. I’m glad we’re in a strong position to support them.


BMA CEO Tom Reynolds explains why the Government’s coronavirus recovery plan could benefit the KBB industry and be the key to a greener outlook


he economic turmoil of the past few months has one potential silver lining. It is a unique opportunity for a reset, a chance to “build back better” in government parlance. Going back to normal is not good enough.


So how to create meaningful growth with environmental benefits? The


Green Homes Grant is an early signal that the Chancellor and his colleagues see the transformation of the UK’s housing stock as part of the answer. Up to now, there has always been a tendency for policymakers to focus on either big infrastructure or the number of new-build houses. Think of the political capital expended on HS2 or even securing the planning permission for a new housing estate in your area. The awakening that environmental and economic benefit could come by spending a little of that capital on 28 million existing homes in the UK is welcome, if overdue. I remain worried, however, that the KBB sector could miss out. I’ve too often heard commentators bemoan consumers for pouring money into ‘frivolous’ kitchen and bathroom refurbishments, rather than energy-saving improvements. This is clearly nonsense, as it is the tangible upgrades to living areas that provide a ‘carrot’ for homeowners to make other green upgrades. You can’t Instagram cavity wall insulation – unless you have a very niche following. Oft-repeated nonsense can be dangerous. The KBB sector must be covered by any home-


improvement stimulus package from the Government. Upgrades to fittings can, by themselves,


September 2020 ·


‘Build back BETTER’ T


The KBB sector must be covered by any home-improvement stimulus package


have a massive positive environmental impact. The carbon footprint of potable water may be relatively small – around 30g of CO2 equivalents per 100 litres – but scaled up, if we all reduced our water consumption by a third, it would have the same annual carbon saving as taking a million petrol cars off the road.


And that is without considering the carbon benefit of heating less water.


Let’s remember the average household emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 a year just through heating water.With two-thirds of domestic water consumption taking place in the bathroom, efficient bathroom fittings are key. Some showers, if taken for eight minutes, can consume twice as much water as a bath. Low-pressure showers, taken for just five minutes, consume a fraction by comparison. The Unified Water Label can help consumers make water-efficient decisions and manufacturers are bringing forward products that harness behavioural ergonomics to save water. It doesn’t look like such innovations are covered by the Green Homes Grant. So, what would help? In the autumn, Rishi Sunak should consider a VAT reduction on all home improvements. The BMA recently commissioned Opinium to do some polling on the potential policy. We found that 36% of homeowners would be more likely to complete a full bathroom refurbishment if VAT was reduced from 20% to 5%. Four-in-10 of those already considering a bathroom upgrade would increase the budget, and 36% would bring plans forward immediately. A VAT cut could be the Govern- ment’s best route to a green, quick win, and great for KBB to boot.


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