TALKING POINTS TALKING POINTS
PLUMBING & HEATING
BMJ eavesdrops again, this time on a chat between members of the NBG Category Management Team for Plumbing & Heating.
IN THE ROOM: Neil Tidmarsh, Kingsley Bathroom Plumbing & Heating Centre Ltd, Tony Soper, Bell Plumbing Supplies Ltd, Tom Hayman of Harris & Bailey Ltd
A
s with any and all sectors, markets fluctuate and reflect current climates. Reflecting on the last year, all three acknowledged that turnover took a hit, but things are looking positive after the first quarter of 2021. While heating did nosedive to begin with, demand for building materials has ultimately increased. Following reductions in turnover at the peak of the pandemic, all are pleased to report a steady increase in 2021 so far. Tony Soper noted that sales did take a hit from April to June but overall, 2020 saw a strong performance with much of the gap being made up in the later months. Their heating offer has been particularly buoyant and to meet expected increases in demand, Bell Plumbing opened two specialist heating and renewable showrooms in April. Whilst there has been a surge in DIY products and materials across the sector, Neil Tidmarsh flagged up that with families being stuck at home and the colder weather and snow at the start of 2021, this has meant domestic heating has been relied upon heavily. “As a result, we have seen an increase in spare boiler parts, with customers fixing their existing boilers, rather than replacing them,” he said.
Challenges and adapting Supply and pricing are huge challenges faced by all three businesses who are all being affected by the drastic rises of container charges.
Buying enough to meet expected demand,
but trying not to overstock is a real issue, as businesses need to ensure that they aren’t left with product that they can’t sell. All have experienced long delays in product delivery, despite ordering months in advance to ensure they were well prepared. Tom Hayman said that Harris & Bailey have struggled with sourcing underfloor heating in particular and remain frustratingly unaware as to when product will actually arrive in the yard, making it difficult to keep customers informed and satisfied.
This then means additional challenges of pricing and dealing with surcharges, difficult to pass on to customers when costs are fluctuating so much.
Both Soper and Tidmarsh highlighted their concerns that adding surcharges to customer orders could put them at risk of being outpriced by nationals and other competitors, so it’s important that suppliers keep them competitive.
For Hayman, a recent challenge has been the introduction of the low emission zones in London, where Harris & Bailey branches are located. Some of the company’s vehicles aren’t compliant which has meant incurring fines whenever vehicles are driving across the zone’s perimeter – a daily occurrence.” Options are limited, and we are going to have to find a way to accommodate for the added cost of fines and bringing forward lorry replacements,” he said.
All three highlighted the lack of face-to- face interaction as a major difficulty as regular contact with sales reps and suppliers became challenging to maintain.
With restrictions in place, the usual cuppa and a catch up at counters has been eliminated, not only meaning that in-store experience isn’t the same as it once was, but also that counter staff aren’t being talked
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2021 Left:
Neil Tidmarsh, Kingsley Bathroom Plumbing & Heating Centre
through any new products or merchandising or being given the opportunity to give any feedback on products being sold. This then becomes a business issue as key members of staff don’t get the face time with suppliers, but are the ones selling to customers, so they need to know what they are talking about.
Opportunities and growth A sense of normality is highly anticipated and with the emergence of renewable resources, new products, and growing markets – all three believe that change is on the horizon, and that means more opportunities for the Plumbing, Heating and Showrooms CMT.
The group talked about the heating sector’s move to using more renewable resources, with Tidmarsh highlighting that an increase in the use of heat pumps and hydrogen boilers less of a threat than an opportunity. “As soon as UK legislation changes and fitters will be required by law to use more sustainable heating products, we will see an increase in sales, we need to be ready for this and make sure our counter staff and wider team have the right product knowledge,” he said, adding: “As this will be such an unknown quantity for the trade and customers, they will look to us for advice. As long as we know what we’re talking about, they will buy from us – they won’t be querying price too much, they will be querying product to ensure it is fit for purpose.”
Hayman said that these new products will be a focus in Bell Plumbing Supplies’ new showrooms and that the company has committed heavily to supporting the move towards products that use enewable energy. “With the number of new build housing projects growing constantly across the UK, installers will have no choice but to get on board and Bell won’t be behind the curve,” he said.
Discussing the benefits of being part of a CMT and the NBG family at large, all three agreed that one of the most important changes is the support and information that has been available – particularly via regional WhatsApp groups which have made communication with the wider teams easily accessible. BMJ
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