Roger Kyme, the founder and chief executive of bathroom retail franchise Ripples, has hit out the use of computer aided design in kbb retail.

In an interview to mark the company's 20th anniversary, the industry veteran said the use of CAD restricted the designer's natural flair.

"While I'm in Ripples CAD systems will never happen," he said. "To me freehand drawings let the spirit of the designer come through. I don't think a computer system allows personality or flair to come through to the drawings. Everybody says that a computer is only as good as the operator."

And, to Kyme, the designer's skills play a crucial part in the success of the business over the last 20 years. All Ripples designers have been to university or college and are, as Kyme describes it , "fully qualified".

"Our drawings are absolutely stunning," he said. "They are accurate, colourful, and vibrant. You just wouldn't get the same feeling from a CAD drawing. I practice presentation skills a lot with the staff and when you look at these works of art anybody looking at them is going to want to buy a bathroom."

Ripples was founded in 1988 after Kyme has spent time working for, among others, Showerlux and Travis Perkins. The first showroom opened in Bath, followed by a succession of franchises that have taken the total number of stores to 20. It has recently opened a new flagship showroom in Wigmore Street in London.