COMPANY FOCUS: GEBERIT
GEBERIT SELECTS NEW MERCHANT COMMITMENT
Geberit has made significant changes to its product portfolio, extending and strengthening its offering to merchants as Fiona Russell Horne finds out.
O
ver time, brands become associated with certain areas. For example, plumbing specialist Geberit was renowned for its strength in offering bathroom and plumbing fittings that made the most of space and water efficiency. For its sister brand Twyford, acquired when Geberit bought the latter’s parent company Santiec, the strength was in term of bathroom product for the commercial sector and the social housing setting. “When Geberit bought Sanitec, the idea was all about wanting to own the space behind the wall and in front of the wall, in terms of the bathroom market,” says Geberit managing director Mark Larden.
“Twyford is extremely strong in the commercial market and the eco social housing sector, but it never really had a space in showrooms of any sort. It didn’t really transcend into either merchant showrooms or retail showroom settings, neither in the middle of the market nor at the top end. The Geberit brand, other the other hand, has been very active in the past few years in that top end, particularly with ceramics and things like our up-market shower-toilets,” he says. “That area has certainly been very successful for us. But what we what we’ve been lacking over the last two or three years certainly since the acquisition is strength in those sort of mid- range showrooms. And I would include merchant showrooms in that category.
”So, what we have done is launch the Geberit Select range - a number of collections really targeted at the basic to mid-market sectors, something that will be really attractive to merchant showrooms and independent mid- range showrooms. Well designed, value for money suites.”
The new Geberit Select collection became available to UK merchants from October 2020. Twyford Option and Alcona ranges will also remain available, supported by price promotions and installer incentives such as Geberit and Twyford Spin to Win, Twyford’s Grab & Go and Geberit Made for Each Other, an evolution of the successful Dynamic Duo campaign. The company will now focus its eco-basic Twyford offering in the commercial sector, bringing in new basins and WCs, as well as a new wall-hung offer in the Alcona range. In addition to these changes, Twyford’s popular E100 and E200
ranges will be rebranded as Geberit Selnova, part of the new Geberit Select Collection. With 11 ranges, the new collection embodies the very essence of Geberit and will open up a wider choice of affordable and on-trend installation possibilities usually associated with a more premium bathroom offer - including space- saving concealed cisterns, wall-hung technology, furniture and Geberit AquaClean shower toilets. “All the things that consumers are crying out for,” Larden says.
Geberit Select also brings the Geberit shower- toilet to a fresh audience. “For the first time the Geberit shower toilet will be available to merchant showrooms. Not the very top-end, all-singing, all-dancing product, more of an entry- level version, but still a product that will sit well in showrooms and give customers an aspiration for good design and solid value product. Shower toilets are still a niche product but a growing niche. And, certainly, across Europe it is one of the group’s fastest growing products.” Larden continues: “These new designs will be there for merchants, along with all the technology that Geberit offers, like the frames and the flush plates. These of course have been in merchant showrooms for the last 10 years anyway, but it’s normally been with someone else’s pot, another brand of ceramics because Twyford wouldn’t have had that type of product. Now there is a great range - there are seven ranges in the Select collection. However, because of the way things can be combined, it’s probably more like 30 or 40 choice combinations Gone are the days where consumers just buy a bathroom suite with all its elements from one
February 2021
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
range. When they visit showrooms they say, I want that one. I want that one, don’t like those taps and that basin won’t fit because I’ve got a wonky size bathroom so I will go for that one instead. People feel much more confident about mixing and matching now. And if we’ve got a range that’s flexible enough to cope with that then we will get more of more of their money. This collection is targeting those consumers who want good design but accessible design and that’s what the builder’s merchants and the independent merchant showrooms offer them.” The company has been talking to all its merchant customers and the independent buying groups and Larden says that the reaction has been very exciting. “We have a huge number of showroom displays going into key account merchants and a new sales team backing that up”. There will also be a huge emphasis on training, he adds. “Not only in branch, but also via our Academy, which is a BMF accredited Centre of Excellence. Plus, there’s the Geberit tour truck which will go out to branches when it can.” This is a seven and a half-tonne truck which showcase the range, starting with Selnova, which is the low-end entry level moving through the levels, showing customers what the bathroom could really look like. There is also work with interior designers to raise the profile of the brand, particularly on social media platforms such as Instagram, plus the website has plenty of design tools to inspire consumers. “More and more householders are doing their research online first; our website has lots of little tools that help them to choose their product and design their dream bathroom.” Larden continues: “We’ll continue to drive awareness and maximise footfall into branches as we maintain our position as a European leader of quality-crafted, on-trend bathrooms. We’ll also be investing heavily in marketing activity to drive end-consumer awareness and desire for our inspirational bathrooms. This development really starts to show the huge benefit of investment both in front of and behind the wall. If you own both spaces, you can create a bathroom that is both efficient on space and sexy in terms of design. By raising brand awareness, and driving product demand, we’ll also continue to increase sales for our customers – whilst maintaining our position as a European leader in the field of sanitary products.” BMJ
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