The kbbreview Podcast

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is episode five of season ten.

And today's episode is all about choice - To be or not to be? Should I stay or should I go? The hokey cokey...

Deciding between one thing and another is hard enough but when customers are buying a new kitchen or bathroom they have thousands of possible options in front of them.

But can you have too much choice?

Are there just too many products on the market? Just how many sinks or basins, taps or showers, ovens or hobs do you really need to go through? And are most of them so similar that it's really hard to find the differences and what their actual value to the customer is?

And does the level of choice ultimately leave the customer frustrated and just wanting something straightforward and simple?

We're talking it all through with a couple of great retailers - Dawn Theobald-Park from Dovetail Kitchens in West Sussex and Andy Stockwell from Gardiner Haskins in Bristol

We'd love to know what you think? Drop Andy a line at [email protected]

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Welcome to the kbbreview podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is episode four of season five.

So how's business with you at the moment?

That's a hard question to answer isn't it? There are so many variables and uncertainties that being definitive and forecasting even a short way into the future is really, really tricky.

A couple of episodes ago, we were at the KBSA Conference asking retailers there that very question - here's the link to that one if you haven't heard it

Now it's the turn of bathrooms as we also recently went to the Bathroom Manufacturers Association conference at Carden Park near Crewe.

So we asked that very simple question to some leading suppliers - how's business?

One of the biggest indicators of the current health of the market is how robust the supply chain is - through 2020 to 2022 it was, according to a straw poll of the conference audience, everything from shambolic to terrible. There's no question it was one of the issues that defined the covid period so we've also got some highlights from that, including some really insightful retailer views from Ripples managing director Paul Crow.

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Welcome to another special BONUS episode of The kbbreview Podcast all about The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024.

We're running this special series between now and the big awards event in March and it's all courtesy of our 2024 Awards Podcast Partner - Sonas Bathrooms.

In this episode we'll be meeting two of our big winners from the 2023 awards - held back in April in the great city of Cardiff. We have Joanna Geddes from our Kitchen Retailer Of The Year Kitchens by JS Geddes in Kilmarnock, and we have Shane Fraser from our Bathroom Showroom Of The Year winner Stone & Chrome in Surrey.

We'll be finding out more about them and asking why they enter awards and how it can benefit their business, and getting their tips for doing great entries.

Remember, entries close on November 16th so you can find out all you need to know at kbbreview.com/awards or this podcast episode

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies as always.

This week we're looking at something really interesting that's been around for quite a long time but hasn't really managed to get much traction with retailers - and that's the Water Label.

In a nutshell, it's the water efficiency equivalent of the energy ratings label that all appliances have to display. It's a scheme that's been developed by bathroom manufacturers under the auspices of a body called the Unified Water Label Association lead by today's guest - Yvonne Orgill.

So why is the water label something that showroom retailers need to be much more aware of?

Well, imagine a scenario where every tap, shower, WC, dishwasher and anything else in your showroom that uses water has to - by law - have a water efficiency label hanging off it. What will that mean for your beautiful displays, your sales story and your own ability to explain it knowledgeably to every customer.

Especially as, unlike the energy label on appliances, the water efficiency of a tap or a shower is as much influenced by the user's habits as anything else.

The Unified Water Label, developed in the UK, has been accepted across Europe as the industry standard, however a few weeks ago the UK Government announced that it was going to develop a totally separate water label from scratch - essentially rejecting the existing scheme.

And the new label, when it arrives, will be mandatory in your showroom.

So, Andy met up with Unified Water Label Association managing director Yvonne Orgill at a recent event and talked it all through.

Don't forget the entries are now open for the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024. It's totally FREE to enter and the closing date is November 16th.

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast where your host is, as always, Andy Davies,

Today's episode is a really, really interesting discussion between some top retailers recorded at the recent KBSA Conference. It was billed as The Big Debate and it did cover several topics but here we're going to concentrate on two:

Firstly, is the inclusive/multi-generational market viable for independent kbb retailers? Should there be more dedicated displays in showrooms? What existing products work well and what's missing? (Hint: big buttons back on appliances...)

Then we switch to a fiery debate about apprenticeships and whether, as far as independent retailers are concerned, they're worth the cost and the administrative hassle. Why not just employ someone and train them up yourself?

It's all really good stuff so don't miss it!

And don't forget that entries are open now for our kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024. It's totally FREE to enter and we have categories for retailers, showrooms, designers, installers and suppliers. Simply go to kbbreview.com/awards for all the details and the closing date is Thursday, November 16!

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies it's a brand new season - and would you believe we're at Season Ten.

In this episode, we're asking a very simple but very relevant question - how's business?

There's no doubt that the market is uncertain, unpredictable and unwilling to play nicely so that very straightforward question has lots of different possible answers depending on where you sit.

So Andy has been at the KBSA annual conference at The Belfry to meet up with loads of top independent kbb retailers, many of them friends of the show, to get some thoughts on how the market is behaving and to aks them 'how's business?'

Remember that entries are currently open for the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024. We have categories for designers, retailers, showrooms, installers and suppliers and it's totally free to enter. Entries close on November the 16th so to find out everything you need to know go to kbbreview.com/awards.

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Welcome to the kbbreview podcast, and welcome to the first of our official bonus episodes all about The kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024.

That's right, the biggest and longest-running awards event in the UK kitchen and bathroom industry is back and in 2024 we're celebrating an amazing 30 years. 

A few weeks ago  we did an episode announcing that entries were open and giving a whole heap of top tips for putting together winning entries - if you haven't heard it we really recommend it as it really does tell you everything you need to know about entering.

So have a listen to that, visit the website kbbreview.com/awards and you have until the closing date of November the 16th to get your entries in. 

We have categories for retailers, showrooms, designers, installers and suppliers and it's totally FREE to enter as always. 

And in this first special bonus episode we'll be catching up with Richard Sloan, the CEO of our 2024 award Podcast Partner Sonas Bathrooms.

They joined us for the 2023 awards not long after launching in the UK following decades of success in their native Ireland. So we'll be finding out from Richard how they're getting on and what he thinks of the current tricky market.

You can find out all about Sonas Bathrooms at sonasbathrooms.co.uk

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this episode is officially episode ten of season nine. 

That means it's the last full episode of the season and what a series it has been - we've talked about resolving disputes,, packaging, apprentices, Howdens, installers, recruitment, the state of the market and much, much more.  If you haven't heard them all - and your reason for not doing so had better be good - you can find them all at kbbreview.com/podcast.

For our final full episode, we're looking at the pros and cons of retailers offering consumer finance. All the big sheds do it but it's still a comparatively rare thing for independents. 

So why is this, are they missing out, is it all too onerous, what's the cost to them, and how much do you need to do?

We're talking it all through with our expert Alex McCulloch, from Consumer Credit Solutions.

Are you a kbb retailer, designer, installer or supplier? If so then entries are now OPEN for the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024. 

It's the biggest awards in the industry and it's totally FREE to enter. 

The closing date is November the 16th so head along to kbbreview.com/awards to find out everything you need to know about categories, entering and booking seats and tables for the event in March. 

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast and welcome back to the second part of our special series in association with Cyncly.

In part one a few weeks ago, we met designers  Hugo Castro from Wilson Bathrooms in Glasgow and Manish Hirani from Moiety Kitchens in London and we started our look at how they use Cyncly products such as Virtual Worlds and Winner to take their customer through a journey. 

Here's the link to that episode if you haven't heard it, and we do recommend it as it is really interesting to hear how different retailers and designers work.

In that first part, we looked at what happens during the initial consultation, and how good designers can use the software to visualise and narrow down the client's vision in a way that can really sell the dream.

In this second part, we'll pick the journey up after the client has said yes and how these Cyncly software packages can then be used to tweak, hone and adjust the details to get to that final sign off.

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, this is Episode 9 of Season 9 and Iyour host as always is Andy Davies.

It's our penultimate show of the season and it's a real state-of-the-industry one today as we look at an area that is a real bellwether for how we're all doing - and that's recruitment.

Redundancies and job losses are always an indicator of a significant downturn, however the paradox is that there are still significant skills gaps and vacancies that can't be filled - good people are still really hard to find.

So we'll be getting the expert view of Peter Jones from recruitment agency Foyne Jones.

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