Paul Bence, managing director of the George Bence Group, will chair the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) kitchen and bathroom forum, which will set out to bring together key members to discuss important industry issues.
The BMF now runs special interest forums for its members and the new kitchen and bathroom event means they now cover 14 specific areas.
BMF chief executive John Newcomb said: “Paul is the ideal chairman for the K&B forum, both for his knowledge of and success within the sector and for the breadth of his contacts among merchants and suppliers with an interest in this increasingly important area.
“The forum concept is greatly appreciated by BMF members and the launch of the K&B forum means we are now running 14 of these successful special interest groups.”
Bence took over as managing director of George Bence Group in 2010. He took its struggling Obsidian retail branches and transformed them into award-winning kitchen and bathroom showrooms. He is also an active member of the Fortis Buying Group, where he is trading director of all showroom business across the member network.
Bence said: “Product diversification is an important aspect of the merchant industry, especially among the shrinking margins associated with the traditional commodity building material products. The BMF has clearly embraced the sector by creating this forum.
“Personally, I am honoured that the BMF has asked me to chair the group and I look forward to engaging in insightful conversation around the kitchen and bathroom supply chain.”
The BMF’s first kitchen and bathroom forum will take place on November 12 at Roca’s new conference and showroom facility in Leicester. Details from [email protected]