Editor Andrew Davies on what the KBB industry can learn from the wider retail sector...

It's always easy to treat the industry you're in as a kind of cocoon, a walled environment where you feel either safe or under siege depending on the mood. You understand it though and as Kylie said at her most philosophical - it's better the devil you know.

But it does you good sometimes to stick your head out and see what's happening in the wider world and it's often as useful to learn that others are suffering the same problems as it is it to see new ideas and practices.

I went along to the British Retail Consortium's annual conference recently - the BRC actually called it a Symposium, although I'm not sure what the difference is - and it was an enlightening experience to hear the likes of Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke, Harrods managing director Michael Ward and HMV chief executive Simon Fox talk about their thoughts and strategies for the retail market, as well as senior directors for brands such as Starbucks, Waitrose, Blacks and QVC.

While, in my opinion, the KBB industry rarely engages with the wider retail environment, it was clear that the problems and opportunities it faces are, unsurprisingly, shared by most of the retail sector - what was interesting was just how much, and how far behind much of the KBB industry is in tackling it.

The overriding topic that arose again and again was multichannel retailing - it has moved on from simply being referred to as 'online' and this was best summed up by Philip Clarke, in his first major speech as the new Tesco CEO, who said openly that "successful retailers need to be multichannel retailers".

"A decade ago most people put the internet in a silo, a discrete part of their business," he said. "No more, by 2020 everyone under 21 will see the internet simply as an integral part of their lives...We cannot differentiate between online and in-store. Our offer online has to be at least as good, if not better than, that which we offer on the high street."

This is the definition of multichannel, the seamless integration of on- and off-line. Both Tesco and Waitrose said that rather than threatening the customer's visit to the store it actually enhanced it, and the 'click and collect' service that sees them order online but pick up in store had seen huge increases - the one inconvenient part of buying online is waiting for it to be delivered.

This is why Dr Alan Treadgold, the global head of retail strategy at consultants Arc, said that part of being a successful multichannel retailer must include the in store experience.
 
"[Shoppers] still value the high street and being able to go into retail stores and touch, feel and engage with the products," he said. "But I think what has been impacted by recession and technology is the expectation of experience on the high street. They are actively looking for more stimulating and engaging experiences in mainstream retail."

The correlations with many of the continuing issues in kitchen and bathroom retailing are obvious here - and how to be a multichannel retailer in an area of the sector that is dominated by infrequent and long-winded customer engagement is another debate. It's clear that the real message is adaptation to the demands of consumers, and that either comes by lowering the price as much as possible or giving them an experience they feel is worth paying a premium for.

And that experience must begin the moment they put their fingers on the keyboard or iPad.

This was underlined for me by Harrods managing director Michael Ward. Experience is at the heart of the luxury retail, he said, and that market is thriving because it offers something the standard high street cannot - the most successful luxury brands have managed to sell the dream as much as the product.
"Historically, fashion was presented in a number of salons with exclusive clientele," he said.

"This still happens of course and the £150,000 catwalk dress is still sold, but the real skill of the luxury brands was to take that and make it into a £2,000 piece which is both affordable to the affluent classes but still very strongly referenced to the catwalk. They create an aura of uniqueness, style and quality and then market it globally. Customers want dream investments - if it is desirable, beautiful and classic, they will buy it.

This, of course, is the kind of reassuring opinion that will have mid to upper market kitchen and bathroom companies salivating. His description of the showroom was the part that resonated most with me though I think.

"When I walk into a boutique on Sloane Square or Bond Street they are a true experience. They're well thought-out from a customer perspective with space, sight lines and aesthetic quality - what is right for that product in that environment. The quality of the materials is exquisite, no MDF, no ceramic tile, but beautiful exotic woods and classic marble, creating an image which is unique to the brand. They give a truly amazing experience.

"Customers are more and more discerning, they require a perfect environment and there is a danger that when we do not provide this they will start to walk. Doing everything on absolute return puts the consumer proposition in danger."

How much of the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry can truly say it offers the kind of experience that equates to the value of the product? Does an ongoing endemic of discounting and sales make the consumer believe that they are paying only for product and not for experience?

And does the consumers' first engagement with the industry, which is now invariably online, start that journey as it means to go on? I, for one, am not so sure.

Email: Andrew@kbbreview.com

Twitter: @andrewkbbreview