Tracey Bamber, the new MD of Franke UK and Ireland, has hit the ground running since starting the job at the end of February. Tim Wallace spoke to her at this year's Eurocucina....

Not only is she running in the shoes of Duncan Marr, the man who had started Franke's business in the UK and ran it for 37 years, she needed to go straight to the KBB Birmingham show and then, just weeks later, to Milan for the Eurocucina exhibition. Luckily for her, and Franke, she's clearly enjoying the fast pace and her background as MD for Newell Rubbermaid in the UK and Ireland, and vice president and general manager for Graco UK, Ireland and South Africa clearly stands her in good stead as a brand-oriented leader.

Graco specialises in baby products and Newell Rubbermaid wide portfolio includes household names like PaperMate and Sharpie. So are there parallels with kitchen sinks? "When you find out you're pregnant, for example, you are extremely hungry for information and you go everywhere for it," Bamber explains.

"So as a brand, the customer is easy to make contact with but they're in such a noisy environment it's quite difficult to stand out.

"That means you have a limited window of opportunity to make an impact, and the same is true of kitchens. It's such an enormous purchase in their life that, at that point, they want to know they've made the right decisions and they're hungry for information. They're looking to brands to give them answers."

Taking over from someone with the industry knowledge and experience of Marr could be seen as daunting, but Bamber clearly sees it as a challenge and is genuine in her praise of her predecessor, but that doesn't mean the inbox isn't still full of difficult decisions.

"It's no surprise to say the toughness of economic environment we're all operating is first priority," she says.

"Ireland in particular is still struggling. It's clear we're all still in a very difficult situation and the signs of recovery are there but no one seems to be seeing it in the numbers yet. Managing the costs, and making sure we continue to deliver great service but in a cost effective way - that's number one on the agenda."

"Interestingly, and music to the ears of many Franke retailers, Bamber says number two on the agenda is the company's policies on internet traders.

"My major challenge is how do we as a branded offer ensure that the bricks and mortar retailers - the specialists providing showroom space and service - are not being disenfranchised by internet retailers. I don't think I can eliminate that problem entirely, but I want to discourage and encourage as much as possible in the most appropriate way. I've spent a lot of time trying to understand our legal position with European competition law, which is what creates a lot of the issues.

"But the internet as a channel of distribution is here to stay and we have to accept that it will need service. I want to try and ensure that the consumer is not disenfranchised but they need to know that purchasing from that channel can come with associated challenges - for example lack of fitting advice or after sales support."

In an interview with kbbreview on his retirement, Marr admitted that the downturn had prompted Franke to diversify into appliances, however this is something Bamber seems willing to steer them away from.

"My focus at the moment is on delivering the core business of sinks, taps and associated accessories," she says. "There's a huge amount of innovation in those areas, the Minerva hot water tap for instance, we need to create some space in the consumer's mind that this is something we do and deliver better than anyone else. There's more share we can own in taps and, in particular, accessories. We can do a lot more there and so can the retailers."