Q&A BKU Q&A
Meet the Sponsors
In the aftermath of the 2022 BKU Awards, we were delighted to catch up with Ben Bryden, Sales and Marketing Director at awards sponsor RAK Ceramics UK, to find out more about sustainability, consumer confidence and the outlook for the next twelve months.
Tell us about your company
RAK Ceramics provides a full interiors solution from sanitaryware, brassware, furniture, mirrors and wall, floor and outdoor tiles. We have a 50% market share of the UK ceramic kitchen sink market and are also the third largest tile producer globally. This means that we can service both the top end luxury market and the more everyday functional needs of the domestic client. This is our point of difference; RAK Ceramics is a one-stop shop for everything in the bathroom and kitchen, including sinks, surfacing and flooring. We can offer retailers all of this under one trusted brand. At the forefront of design innovation, RAK Ceramics collaborates with some of the world’s leading designers to create breath-taking bathroom collections. These include RAK-Cloud and RAK-Petit created by Giuseppe Maurizio Scutella, the RAK-Variant washbasin collection by Daniel Debiasi and Federico Sandri and RAK-Valet sanitaryware born from our collaboration with Patrick Norguet. Our latest Designer Collection features the work of fashion designer Elie Saab.
Many of the collections in the RAK Ceramics portfolio are designed to be interwoven too, so while catering for a specific design element themselves, they can work alongside other ranges for a seamless finish, all from one trusted supplier.
Why was it important for you to sponsor an award this year in particular? We are delighted to offer our continued support to this event. The BKU Awards are an important date on the industry’s calendar and a time for us to recognise all the great things about the sector. The awards are voted for by those working within the industry, people who work with the brands and the products every day, which makes winning even more special.
The awards event itself is an excellent opportunity for industry leaders, manufacturers and retailers to connect, something that for so long we all took for granted, until 2020 happened. Being able to do so again, and to offer our sponsorship to help make it happen, is important to RAK Ceramics.
This year’s awards were our first carbon-neutral event – how important is sustainability to you (and the sector more widely)?
Sustainability in every sphere of business is one of the main elements of the RAK Ceramics mission statement. We’re committed to practicing environmental stewardship throughout our manufacturing chain – from product design and efficient operations processes – and to playing an active role in building a better community by enhancing the surrounding environment. Ensuring our products are manufactured in a sustainable way is paramount. Water efficiency, for example, is a key focus in bathroom design so this is a priority in our product development. As the effects of climate change continue to be felt, sustainability will no doubt become much more of a focus for consumers and RAK Ceramics remains committed to providing our customers with the suitable solutions.
Consumer retail confidence and cost of living is a hot topic these days – what can the KBB sector do to support consumers in their buying decisions?
Now more than ever, consumers will be seeking assurance that the they are making in their bathroom or kitchen is worthwhile. That the products they are choosing are quality and offer longevity and that their design choices will help add value to their property. Energy efficiency is a hot topic as consumers look to cut back as utility bills climb, and this could be a very useful focus for retailers. It’s important that manufacturers and retailers alike ask themselves, how can the products you offer help save water and save energy, without the consumer needing to make too many compromises on their lifestyle choices?
2021 was a better year for the sector than some had perhaps forecast – how has 2022 been so far?
2021 was remarkable for the kbb industry in terms of adapting and retailers really playing to their strengths. Thanks to this, 2022 also started strongly, albeit against a background of economic uncertainty for many. There will be times ahead
where it is necessary to adapt once again, but the sector has shown its strength in the past and will continue to do so.
Many consumers are still working from home, and this looks unlikely to change in the short term – is this reflected in the types of kitchen and bathroom products and services consumers are buying?
Consumers want to make a distinction between their working time and space and their living spaces. That means even more emphasis on comfort and luxury in the bathroom. There’s no doubt that people are still spending much more time at home than they tended to before the pandemic, and investing in making the home as comfortable as possible is still very much the focus.
What’s next on the horizon for RAK that our readers should be aware of? The opening of our Design Hub in London was a huge moment for RAK Ceramics this year and we are excited to now be able to use this space to host seminars and events and to launch new products and innovations. It provided the perfect platform for the new Elie Saab bathroom collection, plus an exciting surface range, Metamorfosi. Looking ahead, we have just launched our Bathroom Collection brochure for Autumn 2022, with new additions to some of our most popular ranges featuring and we’re looking forward to introducing these to our retailers during quarter four.
If you had to pick one thing that you think will make a positive difference to the KBB sector in the next year, what would it be? Be kind. Two words that have been used an awful lot over the last couple of years, but that are still so, so important. As we all adapt to future changes, take on the challenges coming our way and continue to compete in what can sometimes feel like a really competitive market, it’s important that we look out for each other. We hope, as a manufacturer, that our retailers feel they can approach us if they have any issues, because by working together, we can deliver the very best for your customers.
10 BKU OCTOBER 2022
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