Bristan targets top-end retail





 Peridot  floorstanding basin mixer
and Moonhead shower inspired by lamp

Brassware manufacturer Bristan has introduced Rare by Bristan a top-end collection of taps, showers and accessories designed for bathroom specialist showrooms. Priced from £175-£250 for mixer taps and up to £1,100 for showers, Rare by Bristan features seven jewel-themed ranges, with names such as Sapphire and Citrine.  And as the name suggests, the Rare by Bristan collection will be exclusive to 250 bathroom boutiques throughout the UK.

CEO of the Bristan Group, Jeremy Ling commented: “This product will not be going to any other multi-outlet retailers or into the merchants. It’s going to be managed completely separately to the Bristan brand. We have a dedicated sales force as well.”

Having greater sales through trade channels than retail channels, Bristan has now set its sights firmly on the specialist sector. In taps, the company has a 38% share in the trade sector, through merchants and has ambitions to achieve similar sales in the retail sector.

However, the company claims the focus on independent bathroom specialists isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to the decline in the house building sector.

 “We effectively started the process 18 months ago. Our strategy is to move into retail in a much more meaningful way. We’ve got a strong brand and what we’ve done is to go into the marketplace to determine what’s wanted,” said Jon Cox, general manager Bristan retail.

500mm x 500mm Fixed Head shower

Jeremy Ling added: “It’s part of a new direction for Bristan, where we are entering into the consumer space through a retail channel.”

And the company is adamant that although serving DIY giants with the Bristan brand name, it can play in the top-end sector with Rare by Bristan. Jeremy Ling said: “Our research says 71% of plumbers recommend Bristan. So, without being arrogant, we are extremely well regarded and well-recommended by plumbers but consumer brand equity is very small. We’re not trying to take the brand in the consumer’s eyes and move it upmarket. We are playing on the fact that the plumber/installer will recognise Bristan and it will give them confidence, while Rare will set it apart for the consumer.”

More on this story will be published in the April issue of Kitchens & Bathrooms News.

Join our Showroom Forum







Customers are increasingly demanding better deals from high street retailers. So how can you offer added value to a sale without losing out on profit margin? Join our panel of like-minded bathroom and kitchen retail professionals to find out.

We are offering showroom owners, managers and designers the chance to join a lively discussion group. The aim is to exchange ideas with like-minded retail experts and learn from the experiences of those around the table.

The 360.4 Showroom Forum is a friendly, interactive environment where we will discuss how to make your business more competitive in the high street without having to move it downmarket or lose out on potential profit.





We also want to know, are getting value, as a customer, from your supplier?  Is ‘added value’ key to choosing a supplier? What ‘added value’ would you like from suppliers?

There’s a lot to discuss, so join us and learn!

The 360.4 Showroom Forum takes place at the luxury Hotel Du Vin in Brighton on April 7 and is FREE to attend. Lunch and refreshments will all be provided. In addition, all guests will be presented with a gift to take home. You will not find this opportunity available anywhere else in the industry, so take full advantage.

Places at the 360.4 Showroom Forum will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Email Britta O'Boyle at Kitchens & Bathrooms News to reserve your place at: boboyle@hamerville.co.uk

Secret manufacturer: Why run scared of the web?

In an industry where customers buy from people and service should be king why is it we all feel so threatened by the internet?

Price may drive first-time online sales, but it is customer service that promotes loyalty and repeat custom. And more importantly word of mouth recommendations.

As a manufacturer we carefully select our reseller partners to ensure our end consumers get the best possible experience when they interact with and purchase our products. However, with the proliferation of internet retailers who are able to buy from our direct customers and then sell on, we have a whole area where customer experience is out of our control.

In order to test this I recently purchased a selection of items from an online retailer that we do not deal directly with. Having attempted to make the purchase in late November and reaching a point when the transaction failed I received an email the following day saying the product was available and I should call to order. I did so and within an hour the payment had been taken from my account. And then silence.

2 weeks later I called to follow up and request a delivery date. Nothing.

Another 2 weeks, another slightly more irate email, and I was informed that they had just received the items but given that it was so close to Christmas they assumed I wouldn’t need the goods until January.

I contacted them again to arrange delivery and explained I could not be at home during the week to take delivery and needed a Saturday delivery. I was told they didn’t have couriers that delivered Saturdays and I’d have to find a way of being home during the week or having someone wait in on my behalf.

It is now two months on and we still have not reached a conclusion and I am nearly £500 poorer with nothing to show for it.

Customer service must be considered as any interaction with the customer, whether that be through creating a comfortable in showroom experience through music, decor, displays or providing the right information, advice and crucially problem solving service post sale. An internet service provider, potentially 200 miles from a consumer’s home, simply cannot provide this.

In fact, from my experience, they cannot even fulfil the basic obligations of providing goods in return for payment.

The only way to tackle this situation is for us as an industry to educate customers in the service reasons for buying from a bricks and mortar outlet. The purchase of a new bathroom is a high value, potentially high risk purchase. Consumers need to be aware that their contract is first and foremost with the retailer, not manufacturer, and that the expert advice of a bathroom retailer with the ability to include the right product in the design, with the right functionality to suit the customer’s requirements can help to ensure a positive experience so they can enjoy their new bathroom, not regret ever having started the process.

Top 5 tips for retailing

Queen of Shops Mary Portas has teamed up with the National Skills Academy for Retail to develop a series of masterclasses for independent retailers. Developed in conjunction with the guru,herself, we glean 5 top tips from the courses to run a successful bathroom/kitchen retailing business...

• Be objective and be honest with yourself. Rate yourself from the shopper's perspective. Is this a place you are happy to be in? Could you improve the customer experience in any way?
• Make service king. Competing on price with value chains is an impossibility, so focus on incredible customer service instead. It will have a far bigger impact on attracting and keeping customers.
• Create and promote your brand through window displays. Use them to grab atention, not just profile your best-sellers.
• Be attentive and flexible. You are free from bureaucracy of bigger chains, so if someone spends lots of money with you, don't charge them extra for fitting or delivery.
• Careless talk costs sales. Shoppers are most clued-up than ever before so your staff need to be every bit as informed. Make sure they are product specialists.

Duravit showcases ISH launches

At its headquarters in Hornberg, Duravit unveiled 14 bathroom products, it is set to show at the ISH exhibition from March 15-17, under the theme 'it's magic'.

Created by six design houses, including the addition of Russian designers Sergei Tchoban and Matteo Thun,  “We have never had so many designer products at the same time”, expressed Duravit  CEO Franz Kook.

Tchoban reflected the trend for ‘New Opulence’ with the introduction of Esplanade, a bathroom suite with items designed to look like antique furniture.  The WC had been designed to resemble an antique chair, while the bath took on the appearance of a chaise longue.

Created for commercial projects, Matteo Thun designed the Onto range, which had been created for quick assembly and to last for 15 years. It echoes his design philosophy of ‘high design and no use-by-date’.

There were updates to ranges too. Sieger Design returned to update its Darling suite, with the introduction of Darling New and Philippe Starck also revisited Starck 1, offering a variety of countertop basins, plus cylindrical and cuboid underpedestal cupboard to add to his barrel form. Eoos Design rethought the Paiora bath, originally designed eight years ago.

However, among the highlights of the launch was the Starck St Tropez steam shower, taking up just 1sqm of space and Open Space shower enclosure.  Created by Eoos Design, the enclosure walls folded back to the walls to offer additional space in the background.

For more ISH highlights, don’t forget to read the March issue of Kitchens & Bathrooms News. Sign up now for FREE.

Brits abroad

This year, German bathroom exhibition ISH will see an influx of British suppliers looking to infiltrate mainland Europe

Frankfurt may play host to the biennial bathroom exhibition ISH, from March 15-19, but it draws exhibitors and visitors from all over the world. This year, a selection of UK manufacturers have chosen to debut at the show to attract a wider, European audience. Perhaps they have chosen to exhibit at European show because they are part of a larger multi-national group, or felt forced to explore export markets for sales growth. Whatever the reason, it’s great to see UK manufacturers taking designs to Europe and showcasing British companies. And we’ve got them here for you…

British sanitaryware and bath brand B.C Sanitan will be exhibiting for the first time at ISH and launching its Art Deco collection.  It will also be showcasing its existing portfolio to the European audience, including its Highgrove collection (shown).  B.C Sanitan has recently expanded the capacity of its acrylic bath production, introduced a new suite Hillingdon and added black ceramic basins to its offer.

UK representative of Hotech Design, Number 31, will be attending ISH and introducing eight radiators. Gropius (pictured) will be among the contemporary models on display, which following their launch, will be brought into the UK. The Hotech radiators will be made available to the market via a network of interior showrooms.

 Making a debut appearance at ISH will be Roman who is set to showcase its Desire enclosures. In addition, the company will be launching a range of shower valves and additions to its Embrace collection, which includes a folding bath screen and three panel sliding door enclosure. Completing the line-up, Roman will show its luxury Sculptures collection.

Bathroom distributor HiB will exhibit at ISH for the first time and showcase its range of mirrors and mirrored cabinets on an 112sq m stand. The HiB stand will feature the company’s LED mirrors with a re-chargeable, long life battery source. These will be mounted on glass panels to highlight the fact that they don’t require cabling.

Vado intends to make a splash at the ISH exhibition, showcasing a hero product in a world-wide debut. It claims to be an industry first and Vado states that it will reflect the company’s ambitions for the future. Shown is its Identity digital brassware monobasin mixer, which features digital controls

Showcased on the Eurocare Showers stand is will be the Twinline 2 shower-bath concept from Artweger. The model features a deep tub and a straight glass door, which has been designed to operate from a standing position. The waste is activated by a mechanical locking mechanism.

Pegler Yorkshire will be using ISH to preview a range of taps from its Francis Pegler collection called Panacea. The Panacea range comprises two basin products, three bathroom products and a kitchen mixer. All items are WRAS approved, feature a moveable aerator and are due to be launched in the UK from April.
For a look at the highlights on offer from European manufacturers, see the March issue of Kitchens & Bathrooms News.  Register to receive your free issue.

SECRET MANUFACTURER: Something about Mary

Our manufacturer on the street agrees  deliver customer value, instead of relying on discounts, to gain sales. Who is the author? Sssh, it’s a secret!

The recent Mary Portas ‘Secret Shopper’ TV programme, featuring the sofa furniture retailer CSL, could have easily been substituted for the bathroom industry. She helped increase the fortunes of this company, simply by focusing on improving customer service. Mary suggested they remove promises of discounted prices, with ‘can’t buy cheaper’ quotes, by introducing a ‘best price’ for all sofas in the store. I constantly hear the mantra that ‘you just have to discount’ in the bathroom industry to secure sales. No-one wants to be the first to break the status quo and yet CSL did just that - and won. And it’s all the more impressive in an industry where discounting is not just expected but where advertising messages focus almost entirely on this tactic.

Deadset against sales

The sale becomes a vicious circle. Prices are discounted and sales go up. Yet they are often simply cannibalising future potential sales. This results in sales, reducing post discount period, lead to the decision to go back into a sale period and so on. The CSL approach to always offer their best price – no sale, no discounts, no misleading pricing – was a brave move. That it did not run a sale period in December last year was even braver. The results spoke for themselves. Despite a slow start, CSL had its biggest trading day ever with a 30% increase on their previous best performance. It was making a very clear statement – the product is worth the price.

Delivering customer value

Conventional marketing wisdom suggests that there are two clear drivers for delivering customer value – economic and psychological. Economic value is driven by function, reliability and durability. For a bathroom purchase this is delivered by ensuring the customer buys good quality product that fits their bathroom and works well.

Psychological value is delivered through the relationship created between consumer and reseller during the transaction. By creating a level of trust with the customer by considering their requirements, making suggestions and developing a proposal that delivers on these and then ensuring goods are received in a timely manner, in good condition and resolving any issues promptly. Added value services such as installer recommendations (making sure the end to end experience is positive), follow up after sales messages to ensure all is to the customer’s satisfaction can all add further to this psychological value.

Deliver on this and economic value is also enhanced and perhaps one day we may be ready to follow the example of CSL and create an industry where the question of price becomes a distant second to that of value.

EDITOR'S COMMENT: Showrooms should be an experience

One of my favourite shows on TV has been Mary Portas Secret Shopper. I say one of my favourites because obviously the clear, current winner has to be My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding…Have you seen the dresses, the tiaras, those cakes?

Anyway, I digress. In the Mary Portas Secret Shopper series, this retail guru has highlighted the need for better customer service in high street showrooms, improving the buying experience and increasing sales. Having worked her way through ‘fast-fashion’ or cheap clothes shops, sofa stores and mobile phone outlets, I had hoped she might work her magic on bathroom and kitchen boutiques – too. Why? The answer’s quite simple because some bathroom and kitchen retailers still need it. 

Interestingly, if you ask any group of kitchen and bathroom retailers the secret of a successful showroom they are able to offer textbook answers on maintenance and display choice. The showroom must be clean and well-maintained. It must also reflect the ethos or image of the business.  Displays should reflect the target market and room sets should be inspirational. All of which is true. But few retailers would consider how the showroom makes the customer feel. High street store design is moving on, with showrooms now focusing on the overall buying experience.  

Think of the design of the Apple Store, with dedicated areas to try out the latest products and seminars so consumers can make the most of their purchases.  Aside from offering a customer their choice of tea or coffee, from a built-in appliance on display, how have bathroom and kitchen showrooms evolved to create a ‘purchasing experience’?  

Of course, there are a handful of showrooms that are designed to improve customers purchasing experiences. There are kitchen showrooms offering cookery classes and bathroom showrooms with wellness areas which allow consumers to try before they buy. But these are notable exceptions rather than the rule.

But showroom owners don’t have to invest thousands of pounds in a showroom refit to improve the purchasing experience of the customer. Perhaps you could look at offering at free interiors concierge service – offering advice on where to buy cutlery, table linen, or glassware, perhaps even designer beauty products for the bathroom?

Improving customers’ overall purchasing experiences adds value to the overall sale and in the current climate, it could win more business.