The kbbreview Podcast

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, this is episode 5 of season 5 and your host as always is Andy Davies.

This week we’re talking about sustainability in the bathroom – no, wait, don’t switch us off, I promise it’s really interesting!

You see, that’s the problem. We all know how absolutely crucial it is that there is a global effort to tackle climate change but this industry is really struggling to engage pretty much any retailers or, indeed, end consumers in the movement.

It just seems that when they’re buying their dream kitchen or bathroom they want they want, and therefore their retailer will happily sell it to them.

And that’s particularly acute in the bathroom, the room with the biggest domestic impact on the environment thanks to the water use and the energy it talks to heat it. A recent survey from the Bathroom Manufacturers Association or BMA showed very acutely that consumers AND retailers think the responsibility for sustainability lies firmly with the manufacturer.

So is that fair? And if it is, what can the manufacturer do to engage retailers and consumers?  

We're talking it all through with BMA CEO Tom Reynolds and Dan Lintell, the sustainability manager at Triton Showers.

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Welcome to the kbbreview podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is episode 4 of season 5.

And it’s a big picture episode this week as we’re all about the numbers. 

With so many scary numbers floating around about the economy we thought we’d ask two of our favourite researchers to come up with a couple of interesting numbers each that they believe really illustrate the current state of the kbb market.

And they’re not necessarily what you’d think.

We have kbbreview’s Matt Baker talking to Jane Blakeborough from Trend Monitor and Dave Ruston from Eureka Research. 

Then at the end, just as a little easter egg, there’s a short interview Andy did at the Bathroom Manufacturers Association Conference a few months ago with Robert Llewelyn – better known as the actor who plays Kryten from Red Dwarf . He’s actually a very accomplished conference speaker talking mostly about how the car industry is evolving and changing as it tackles its role in climate change – very relevant to the struggle the kbb industry finds itself in.

He's a very interesting guy but, don’t worry, Andy does get him to do the Kryten voice as well...

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast, this is episode 3 of season 5 and your host as always is Andy Davies.

This week we’re looking at project planning - in normal times (remember them?) experienced retailers could do this stuff standing on their head, it’s about as core as it gets to running a successful kbb business.

But covid and all the subsequent product shortages have meant that the usual smooth plans have been thrown up in the air and retailers now must constantly juggle when jobs can be done and when they might be finished, if they are at all. 

Showrooms are full of empty slots where ovens and coffee machines should be as they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul just to get a kitchen over the line.

And, of course, they have to all that while managing the expectations of the customer all the way through.

We’ve got kbbreview editor Rebecca Nottingham chatting to two very experienced retailer Darren Taylor of Searle & Taylor and Phil Beechinor of Alexander Kitchens.

Once again, a massive huge thank you to our very good friends at Masterclass for being our Season Five Kitchen Sponsor, as many of you will know, they are a proudly British manufacturer of quality kitchen furniture, offering an amazing range of unique products for over 45 years. To find out more about you can become part of the Masterclass family go to masterclasskitchens.co.uk/hello-studios

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast. This week we're looking at an area that so many kbb retailers are increasingly relying on to drive leads – and that’s social media.

More precisely we’ve got a fantastic case study of one retailer who has taken social media and turned it into a huge part of their business mainly by utilising video through TikTok and other platforms.

We’re talking to Josh Delane from The Wood Works in London, and when I say he uses Tik Tok, he has over 400,000 followers and 6.5 million likes – one of his videos has had over 25 million views and, he says, anyone can do it with a bit of time and creativity.

Kbbreview’s deputy editor Vicki Evans caught up with him and it is genuinely inspiring stuff that shows just what’s possible with these new mediums so don’t miss it.

The Wood Works on Instagram

The Wood Works on Tik Tok 

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The products you choose to display - and how you display them - are vital parts of any kitchen studio but how do you make sure you choose the right ones? More importantly, how do you sign off on the best terms with the suppliers? 

What makes a good display deal? What are the red flags that make you walk away? How much space should the brand reasonably expect? And, perhaps most relevant right now, do you carry on displaying products that aren't available. 

We're discussing all this and more with two very experienced retailers, Jim Gettings from J&S House of Design in Oxfordshire and Alex Jenman from Gainsborough Kitchens in Lincolnshire.

A huge thank you to our friends at Masterclass for being our Season Five Kitchen Sponsor, as many of you will know, they are a proudly British manufacturer of quality kitchen furniture, offering an amazing range of unique products for over 45 years. To find out more about you can become part of the Masterclass family go to masterclasskitchens.co.uk/hello-studios

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast. This is the 17th of the final of season four. 

This episode is coming to you live(ish) from Clerkenwell Design Week. 

Your regular host, Andy Davies, has given the podcast over to kbbreview’s deputy editor Vicki Evans as she runs in and out of the bathroom showrooms in Clerkenwell, London.

During her visits to four showrooms - Rak Ceramics, Duravit, Hansgrohe and Vitra Bathrooms, we discussed latest trends, new products, guest designers, whether there is too much choice in the bathroom market and why bathroom manufacturers are becoming a one-stop-shop. 

Today, we are speaking with:

Ben Bryden, sales director for Rak Ceramics UK

Claire Carol, marketing director for Duravit UK

Fletcher Gaubert, regional sales manager and Erika Dodds, trade channel manager at Hansgrohe UK 

Darren Paxford, national sales manager for Vitra Bathrooms 

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is episode 16 of season four.

This really interesting episode is about all about a word that paradoxically manages to be one of the most frequently used in this industry without anyone knowing what it really means.

Or, more precisely, everyone has their own interpretation and definition of what it means which therefore allows it to be used to describe pretty much anything you want.

And the word is……Bespoke.

To some purists it means a tree goes in one end of a workshop and kitchen comes out of the other. To many people, however, it means that the vast choice of modular options coupled with the huge variation in client’s spaces means that no two kitchens will ever be the same and so they are bespoke.

So if anyone can use it, where does the value in the word lie?

It’s a very woolly area so we're talking it all through Sean O’Malley from Arbor Lane Interiors in Kent which happily and proudly describes itself as a bespoke furniture manufacturer.

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Welcome to episode 14 of season four of The kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andy Davies.

Great episode this week as we look beyond the kitchen and bathroom industry to a couple of big external factors that heavily influence it. 

Firstly we’re delving into what’s going on in the retail market with top consultant Ian Scott and then we’re unlocking the front door of the property and mortgage market with Iain Swatton from mortgage switching site Dashly.

Cost of living rises, interest rates, consumer confidence, inflation, online vs showroom, remortgages and everything in between all in this top episode.

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andy Davies and this is episode 14 of season four.

And what a story we have for you today. 

A few weeks ago on April 22, 2022, at Bristol Crown Court, Michael Black was sentenced to over ten years in prison for defrauding over £1 million from independent retailer Bathroom Village while working as its financial controller. 

He siphoned money off for several years by setting up multiple bank accounts and spent the cash on, amongst other things, extending his home in Hallatrow, a snow machine, a drone, hotel rooms and…floodlights and an umpire’s chair for his tennis court in the grounds of his house.

The fraud ultimately lead to Bathroom Village forced do a pre-pack administration to survive.

But survive it did and now, as that sentence is passed, it is a thriving business once again.

We get the full story from Bathroom Village managing director Paul Mason, trust me, you really don’t want to miss it.

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Welcome to the kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andy Davies and this episode 12 of Season Four.

This week, we’re getting down to some nitty gritty and looking at that most fundamental part of retailing – running a sale or promotion.

When do you do it? How do you do it? What gets the best results? How do you plan it? All this and everything in between is discussed in this step-by-step guide with top kbb retail consultant Paul Da Silva.

There’s loads of little validations, insights, hints, tips and advice in here so definitely worth a listen!

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