Trade Associations: Is less more?

Philippa Turrell, Editor
Kitchens & Bathrooms News

There are just some things in life you can just never get enough of, celebrity scandals, chocolate, chips and champagne - or is that just me? But can the same be said for kitchen and bathroom or associations? Surely the power is in the fewer the better. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the role of industry associations, I do. I understand the need for an organisation or even a couple of groups to represent kitchen and bathroom businesses. But with the launch of yet another, planned for this year, the Independent Kitchen Specialists Association (IKSA), the (trade or professional) body count could now rival a teen slasher film.

It brings the number of trade and professional associations, targeting the UK kitchen and bathroom industry to six. The IKSA is set to add to the Kitchen Bedroom Bathroom Specialists Association (KBSA), the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA), the Federation for Kitchen & Bathroom Designers (FKBD), the British Kitchen Designers Association (BKDA), and the Society of British Interior Designers (SBID).  PHEW!

Now, how can all these be of benefit to the kitchen and bathroom industry? Surely the kitchen and bathroom industry could survive on just half this figure; One association for manufacturers, one for retailers and one for designers, seems quite appropriate. But six?

The power of any association is in its ability to represent its members. And I’m sad to say in the retail and designer sector, it could almost be a fruitless task, with a growing number of organisations vying for the same audience. It’s a baffling mix and the confusion could have quite the opposite affect and instead of attracting kitchen and bathroom retailers or designers – see them (almost literally) run in the opposite direction.

Of course, I’m using this as a gauntlet – throwing down a challenge for all associations to show their merit. Not to prove it to me but to all the members they are trying to attract. How many associations do you think should represent the KBB industry? Who are you trying to target? How many members do you have? What are the advantages of being a member of your association? What is the cost?  Can you be the member of more than one association?

Alternatively are you a member of these associations? Why? We want your thoughts too. Do you welcome another association to the kitchen and bathroom industry?

But please hurry otherwise it won’t be long until some bright spark launches the seventh association - Kitchen Retailers And Professionals - and let's not consider that abbreviation.