Four years after setting up her first bathroom showroom at the tender age of 24, Ruth Snowden has just scooped the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for her local area. Tim Wallace travelled to Easingwold Bathrooms and Interiors in York to meet her...
If ever proof were needed that you don't need a background in design to own a successful bathroom business, Ruth Snowden is it. Still only 29, she's been running York-based Easingwold Bathrooms and Interiors for more than four years now and was recently rewarded for her efforts with a Young Entrepreneur of the Year award from the local newspaper.
Not bad for a self-confessed teenage rebel who left college halfway through her A-levels to embark on an extended working holiday that took her from an oil brokerage in Norway to a cattle ranch in Australia.
After returning to the UK, she was then called up by the Government to help farmers during the foot and mouth crisis, before deciding to try her hand at selling Mercedes cars.
It's not exactly an ideal CV for a career in the bathroom business and when she finally fell into the industry by chance, she admits she didn't expect to be "selling toilets" for long. However, when the company she was working for folded 18 months later, Snowden seized her opportunity and with a bit of help from the bank, and from distributor Barwicks, took over the premises and began building a new operation with a completely fresh approach.
Four years on, it seems the move has undoubtedly paid off. From humble beginnings, Easingwold now has a turnover of £500,000 a year and boasts a fully refitted showroom with a wide range of forward-thinking displays. Admittedly, her mum - an interior designer - has been a big help, but Snowden is clearly a quick learner who's not only got plenty of ideas of her own, but a healthy disregard for her competitors. She's determined to offer that elusive something different, whether that's through bright and unusual colour schemes, fashionable wallpapers or adventurous lighting.
Not content with a thriving showroom, Snowden has also just signed a deal with a local glass firm, which will provide a potentially lucrative new string to her bow. Picking me up from York station in the company van, it's only a short journey to the showroom - housed on an industrial park on the outskirts of the city - and I'm soon getting a fuller picture of what makes the business work...
Q As a 24-year-old woman setting up your own business, what sort of reaction did you get from your suppliers and installers?
A It was hard at first. I didn't get much respect from the installers, but I spent a lot of time on site with them sorting out queries. The previous business was more on the trade side and I was there on my own. Everything went through me, so I built up a lot of knowledge.
Q What have been your impressions of the industry so far?
A I love it. Every single customer is different and their expectations are different, so there's lots of variety. But there's not much that's new and trendy out there - it all seems the same, there's nothing really standing out from the crowd. A lot of manufacturers just aren't pushing the boundaries.
Q Is that reflected in the showrooms you've visited?
A Yes, there's a lack of excitement, a lack of understanding and a lack of customer care. I went in a place recently and a woman didn't look up from her desk until I was walking out. Then she asked if I wanted any brochures. They just weren't interested.Where a lot of showrooms go wrong is that they are too set in their ways and have set ideas about how a certain size room is going to work with set products. The five bathrooms they've done in a street will be almost identical. I'd want to do the opposite, I want to do something unique for the customer.
Q Who are your main suppliers?
A Laufen, Vitra and Catalano. They're quality products with good stock levels in this country. The worst thing is when a customer likes something but you can't get it.Showers are from Matki and Kudos. Matki was really supportive from the start - if there's a problem, the engineer is there within a week. But I found Mira a nightmare for spare parts. I've been chasing the rep to come and see me for three years!
Q How did you go about setting up a new business from scratch?
A The building was fully mortgaged and we got a lot of help from our distributor, Barwicks. As a new company, we didn't have a credit history, so they took it on themselves and stood behind us.Within the first year, the business was standing on its own two feet. We were told we'd be lucky to get 30 people at our launch evening, but we stopped counting at 200. About 65-70% of our business is by word of mouth.
Q What is your showroom philosophy?
A I'm a very driven person and when you're fresh to the industry you can put a fresh perspective on things. There are four of us in the showroom - all women. I tried taking on a guy but it didn't work out.We try to break the mould with our ideas, particularly in terms of tiling, mosaics and other wall coverings. Lighting is also very important. Down lighters will give warmth to a room. LED lights look cold and even if you have a warm tile colour, they still give off a blue hue.
Q Tell us about the showroom.
A It's an industrial unit but we've not tried to hide that. We've kept the corrugated roof, but the mezzanine level has been put in since I took over. Ideally, I'd like to put a lid on it to get some down lights, but I don't want it like a rabbit warren, which is what some of these showrooms are like.We try to get customers excited about a concept - tiles or inserts of colour - and the products come very easily. Wallpaper is very in. With non-metallic versions you can put a varnish on to protect it. It's very easy to change the display too and cheaper than replacing tiles.
Q Do you go on any manufacturer trips?
A I've been away with Kaldewei and Dansani, but people have stopped doing it. I find the wrong people end up going; it's not the people who need it - the showroom staff - it's the directors, who are just using it as a bit of a jolly.
Q How much advertising do you do?
A I write supplements on product trends for some of the lifestyle magazines, talking about what people should be looking for, then I come to an agreement on the price of the advert.
Q Tell us about the new company you've set up...
A We're having glass made for bespoke splashbacks by local artists and have decided to separate this strand into a new business we've called Limecoast. We can do anything from bright Paul Smith style stripes to a plain textured white. We're going directly to independent retailers. We're also looking for other products for the brand as time goes on.
Q Can you do kitchens?
A We can, but it's not something I want to get into. You end up a jack of all trades, master of none. There are too many people doing them. There are only three or four door manufacturers for kitchens in the UK now. A £4,000 kitchen can have exactly the same door as one on a £24,000 kitchen, it's the carcasses that are different.
Q How's business?
A Turnover is about £500,000, about the same as last year. We've not been significantly hampered by the downturn, which is because of the market we're in. The lower end customers have dropped off, the people having to get finance, but the people with the money are saying it's no good in a bank account because they're not getting any interest on it.
Q How have you tried to protect yourself from the downturn?
A Being successful is about being cautious with money and cutting back when you can. We run things on a cash account system. You only pay the VAT when money is received from your client, not at the time of invoicing them. It's a good way to keep track of VAT and not pay it out before you've accounted for it.Other people hold on until the last moment to pay the bills but what's the point? I'd rather get them paid and get a good credit rating. Why push it for the sake of a few extra days?We also now take a 50% deposit on order and the balance on delivery. Installers price direct to the customer and get paid at the end of the job. That keeps my accounts a bit more secure - the deposit will cover the products so I won't lose out.
Q What's your average order value?
A A lot spend around £4,000 but it can be as high as £12,000 with tiles. Bathroom companies that don't do tiles must be crazy. They can be as much as £45 a square metre, it's a big chunk of profit.
Q Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
A I don't want to open another branch, I want to keep it personal, but look for other opportunities like the one we're setting up now - something that can change and adapt to the market. A lot of companies make the mistake of thinking that by doing more they'll get more profit, but it's just more overheads and more work.
