Finalists - Master Retailer Award for Bathrooms

Burge & Gunson - London

What B&G says: “Our strategy for the short and long term future has to be flexible in line with the current economic downturn. We have completed some major showroom renovations and still have plans to expand in the pipeline. However, we have to consolidate, maintain growth as well as to market ourselves effectively to maximise whatever business potential there is.“

What the judges say: “They’re clearly very professional and targeted. They know exactly who their market is and they’ve worked hard to move the business on in a difficult market.”

Established for over 40 years, Burge & Gunson is a family business that started life as a plumbers’ merchant and now claims to be London’s largest independent bathroom specialist. Equally importantly, it is also the current defending Master Retailer for Bathrooms.
Since the 2009 awards it has completed a full renovation of its Villeroy & Boch showroom - a £140,000 investment. It has also changed the lighting system for the entire store cutting the power consumption by 80% and, in conjunction with Teuco, opened another showroom on the opposite side of the street dedicated to the brand.

Ripples - Solihull

What Ripples Solihull says: “We consider ourselves first and foremost as retailers...By focusing all our attention and business processes around the core sector which is the homeowner not the installer, architect or specifier, we believe we can surpass expectations at every stage.”

What the judges say: “They seem to have a tight grasp on the business and a clear direction as to what market they’re aiming at. Very well run and constantly impressive.”

Ripples Solihull is one of the smallest showrooms in the Ripples franchise yet is one of its most successful. With a small team of four including owners Martin and Lisa Hammond there is a heavy focus on staff development and training and while they don’t employ installers direct they still arrange for their recommended fitters to attend supplier training seminars.
It has been a successful 2009 for Ripples Solihull - while sales are down by 1%-2%, a good result in itself in the current market, gross profit margins have grown as they focused on customer service and design quality.

Dream Design - Hinton, Dorset

What Dream Design says: “At the core of our business ethos is the concept of complete interior architecture. We will happily design and supply an individual bathroom but welcome the opportunity to look at any room in its wider context.”

What the judges say: “An impressively run outfit. They have a real handle on their statistics and a very good level of business acumen.”

At the heart of Devon in between the affluent areas of Sandbanks in Poole and the New Forest, Dream Design has been operating since 1984 and since then has grown into a multifaceted company. With a workforce of 11 operating from three premises - showroom, manufacturing and warehouse - it regularly turns over more than £1.5m.
From a strong base of high levels of recommendation, the company also has a good marketing strategy and has plans for a major online overhaul.

The Yard - Belfast

What The Yard says: “Our geographic location has distinct advantages from Southern Ireland customers seeking a sterling option to buy with an 8% VAT differential - our specific marketing to this sector had definitely paid dividends.”

What the judges say: “The Yard is a very well presented and focused business. Very impressive on every level.”

Celebrating its tenth year in 2009, Belfast’s The Yard has taken radical and impressive decisions in the last 12 months. The company strategy was to reduce it efforts in distribution and refocus efforts into an architecturally designed showroom. Previous years’ reinvestment has also stood them in good stead during the market downturn as while footfall is down the commercial division is actually up. New signage and livery has also presented a forward thinking operation preparing strongly for the future with a flexibilty at all levels of the business.