To say that Stuart Wilde, Bathing Design's managing director, took a gamble when he bought the showroom is a huge understatement. Aside from the fact his background lies within the bus
industry, a far cry from selling luxury bathrooms, the showroom purchase was something of a 'rescue mission' during a very sticky economic climate. 

The showroom was opened in May 2008 by a company called Luxury Bathe to complement an existing showroom in Darwen. Although the premises had already been found, they drafted in industry veteran Jakki James to design and project-manage the showroom. 


"I was working for a company called Smith's Brothers when I was head-hunted by Luxury Bathe. It was perfect timing because I'd been in the industry for 19 years by then and I was looking for a new challenge," explains James. "I joined the company in November 2007 and worked from the Darwen studio while I was planning and organising the showroom opening."

From the outside things looked like they were coming together as they should for a new business, but the cracks began to show soon after the showroom was up and running, as James explains. "I
don't know what the issues were with the directors, but they had some problems and couldn't fund the complete project so we opened with an outstanding bill and no working capital. But I was unaware of all this at the time because our invoices were being dealt with at the Darwen showroom. As far as I was concerned, the business was functioning well - it was only when we had problems trying to get goods from suppliers that I was aware of any financial issues."

Help came in the unlikely form of Stuart Wilde, a customer of Luxury Bathe who was in the process of buying a bathroom.


"I was looking for a new bathroom and saw their advert in a local glossy magazine," explains Wilde. "I was so impressed with the showroom when I visited that I'd chosen my bathroom in under 15 minutes. Some way into the project, I met with Jakki who asked me if I would pay for some of my products direct to the supplier. I might not have known bathrooms at that time, but I
knew business and could tell they were in trouble financially. I even joked with Jakki that they looked like they could do with a new investor and that I might be interested, to which shereplied 'I might hold you to that one day'."


Once the business was put into administration, Wilde put in a successful bid taking over the company in February 2009 and the rest, as they say, is history. By his own admission, the
decision to purchase the bathroom studio was something of a risk and one completely out of his comfort zone. 


"I'm an accountant by profession and spent 28 happy years in the bus industry. I was involved in a management buyout and ended up running several garages with a partner. In 2006 we were approached by a French Transport company. I'd never contemplated giving it all up until I saw the offer, which was too good to refuse," he laughs knowingly.  "I worked my two year hand-over and decided I wanted to do something else, I needed a challenge. I could have gone to New Zealand bungee-jumping but instead I came to Wetherby and bought a bathroom showroom."

Local press coverage described Wilde's purchase of the company as his 'Victor Kiam moment' and said 'he was so impressed with the showroom and service that he bought the company.' But while
he, and the rest of the staff at the newly named Bathing Design Studio, was comfortable with his, albeit rash, decision, Wilde admits this move shocked family and friends. "My brother-in-law thought I'd completely lost the plot when I told him. He soon changed his view when I brought him down to see the showroom though. He's in the industry himself, and could see its potentialimmediately."

 

Bathing Design certainly gives the saying 'never judge a book by its cover' real meaning. Set in a 12,000 sq ft unit on an industrial estate in Wetherby, what the showroom lacks in exterior aesthetics, it more than makes up for inside. The Yorkshire-based showroom certainly wowed the panel of judges at this year's kbbreview Industry Awards and it's easy to see why. It faced fierce competition in the Showroom Award for Bathrooms category from last year's Master Retailer Award winner Burge and Gunson, the Ripples Solihull showroom and Belfast's The Yard but eventually went on to win.

"When I was drafted in to manage the project I knew I wanted to create something truly spectacular. I designed the showroom myself, with the help of Villeroy & Boch," explains
James. "They have a lot of experience designing showrooms on a large scale and helped with the layout and walkways but I designed most aspects of the showroom myself."

Although the studio specialises in Villeroy & Boch - its largest dedicated showroom in Europe - there are more than 120 lifestyle settings featuring other luxury brands such as Hansgrohe,
Aqata, and Dornbracht. The spaced-out displays, set out over two floors, ensure that customers can take in each setting before moving on to the next without ever feeling crowded. 

The showroom also incorporates a dedicated shower area, where consumers can test the showers and heads at the touch of a button, and a Wellness Lounge, a Japanese-inspired spa where clients
are invited to try out whirlpool and spa bathing products as well as shower and steam systems. "We're even thinking of having a pampering evening for the ladies where we'll put on some food and mini treatments," explains James.

It's this kind of attention to detail that gives visitors a truly innovative showroom experience and it's easy to understand why the judges were won over.  

Business

Considering its shaky start, talk inevitably turns to business as I'm keen to learn just how easy it was to trade when Wilde took over.

"One of the first decisions I made was to change the name because Luxury Bathe was so badly tainted. The business had been going for 12 months before I bought it but we were effectively
starting afresh," says Wilde. "Thankfully we didn't lose any of our customers through the administration process and I think that's completely down to how Jakki handled the delicate situation."

Both Wilde and James are quick to point out that they wouldn't have been able to pull the business out of the doldrums without the huge amount of support they received from suppliers.
"Thankfully all of our major suppliers have been absolutely brilliant and very supportive," explains James. "I think that's because it's such a fabulous-looking showroom that everyone involved with it, including the suppliers, felt the same, it just could not go. It would have been hugely disappointing for it to have disappeared off the radar."

"In terms of the industry, I didn't really know where to start when I took over here," adds Wilde. "It's really down to Jakki's reputation and expertise that we managed to keep the majority of suppliers on side. I wouldn't have blamed them for being completely unreceptive to a business that had previously, albeit under different ownership, dropped them in it."

The business, a luxury bathroom showroom in a wealthy area, was always going to be a viable set-up, it just didn't have the backing and capital investment a showroom of this size needs to get off the ground. Now, under Wilde's management, it's in a completely different shape financially. "We're pretty secure as a business now, we don't have any bank funding or overdrafts
so we're under no commercial pressures and we're in a position to get on with the fundamentals of running a bathroom showroom."

Advertising

A lot of that is down to the detailed marketing and PR strategy Wilde has mapped out, spending on average £1,500 per month on advertising in order to push the company forward. "You've got to back any business up with a solid advertising and marketing campaign," Wilde says. "When times are tough, that's the first thing a lot of people cut back on but to me that's a false economy," he says. "Obviously we're a new business and you'd expect us to advertise heavily to get our name out there, but I believe that even well established businesses needs to keep up
a steady flow of advertising."

But even high-end, luxury bathroom showrooms find it difficult trading in a tough economy, so how's business?
"We're lucky that the market we service hasn't really been affected by the economic difficulties like the mid to lower end," explains James. "I think everyone is down a bit, but on the whole our sector isn't doing too badly."

The team at Bathing Design has a lot to celebrate but resting on their laurels is clearly not part of Wilde's future plan. "The business is already showing signs of growth, and in a difficult economy that's more than most could ask for," he says. "At the moment we're a dedicated bathroom showroom but we have so much space here that there is huge room for development.

"We're seriously considering branching out into other areas that compliment our current offering and give our customers even more inspiration."



FACT FILE

 
> The showroom first opened under the name of Luxury Bathe in May 2008

> Under its original ownership the company went into administration and was bought by
businessman Stuart Wilde

> The newly named Bathing Design Studio opened for business in February 20009 in the
same premises

> Set in a 12,000 sq ft showroom with 120 lifestyle settings

> The largest dedicated Villeroy & Boch showroom in Europe  

> The studio's design team has more than 36 years' experience 

> Bathing Design won the Showroom Award for Bathrooms at the kbbreview Industry
Awards 2010