BATHROOMS
CONSTANT DEVELOPMENT T
Fiona Russell Horne takes a look around BPS’s refurbished Welling showroom.
he Welling High Street branch and bathroom showroom of independent plumbers merchant BPS features 26 displays, and was all designed in house, by managing director Tony Milbery and the Welling branch manager. Understanding that keeping on top of developments is vital in ensuring the company offers its customers the latest trends, Milbery says the company keeps an eye out for what suppliers and other merchants are offering. “We talk to suppliers, and to fellow NBG Partners to pick up ideas, things that we can do to tweak the designs. It’s a constant process of developing and upgrading. We use the computer system to help us, looking at how many of a particular item we have sold, for example, whether we have it in the right position in the showroom, or if we are offering it in the right colour,” he says.
Often just putting a display in a different setting in the showroom can change the way people view it, and can change sale levels. An
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example, Milbery says, was a bay right by the trade counter which showcased one particular suite. “When we moved it to the centre of the showroom, we sold so many more. We have done that in a few of the showrooms now as well, and it has made a real difference. People don’t seem to want to stop and look at displays that are right by the trade counter. They’d rather walk through to somewhere else. We also have the Managers Special in the centre bays as well, which gives customers the chance to really look at it properly.” The showroom caters for all budgets. Milbery says, some customers come in with endless money to spend, some might only have £1,000 to spend on a suite. He says: “We try to suit all of them.”
Many customers have been recommended to visit the showroom by their plumbers or installers, and tend to come from a 10-15-mile radius; most of BPS’s branches are around a 30minute drive from each other, and smaller branches will often send their customers to
Welling as it has the bigger, more extensive showroom offer.
Milbery says there isn’t a dedicated person managing the showroom, that all the branch staff can jump in and help customers. In terms of designs, he says they are seeing a lot of oak wood effect coming back in, and that shower panels and back boards are selling very well at the moment.
The central showroom bays are designed to have half-sized walls, so that the staff can see everyone, and customers can spot other displays across the space. Those that need the full walls, such as the shower enclosure bays, are against the back walls.
He adds: “Because UK bathrooms still tend to be quite small, we’re conscious to take that into account, so some of the bays are designed around a 2sq m unit. We’re all about giving people ideas: they might say ‘I like that, what other colours does it come in?’. And, because we are independent, we can usually get most things for them.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net May 2025
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