With ambitions to become the number-one premium tap supplier to the UK market, British brand Bidbury & Co has launched at kbb Birmingham 2024.
From a soft launch in 2023, Bidbury & Co is making its debut at the exhibition with a section on the Häfele stand.
“The brand is built on my 35 years’ experience in the sinks and taps sector,” explained Bidbury & Co MD Richard Broadbent (pictured). “I know all about the other brands on the market – I know what they’re good at and I know where they’ve fallen down.
“The ultimate goal is to become the number-one premium tap supplier to the UK market and I’m confident we can achieve that. We have the product; we have the quality and the knowledge.”
According to Broadbent, the supply chain issues caused by Covid highlighted a gap in the market for a high-end, premium traditional tap brand with good UK stock availability.
“We saw how Covid affected the supply chain,” he said. “So, we made a strategic decision to partner with suppliers in Europe so we are close to them if we have any issues but also, so that we can get stock into the market quickly and retailers don’t have to wait weeks for their orders.
“Being a small brand we’re really nimble and flexible and, because the design and development is all in house, we’re in complete control of everything. We can react to retailer feedback to fill gaps in the market and in our own product portfolio.”
Bidbury & Co has launched with a portfolio of 15 taps in a range of finishes including chrome, pewter, polished nickel and old English brass. Products are available through national distributors Hafele and Swift Electrical.
“Our portfolio has been really finely tuned,” Broadbent explained. “We’ve spent time researching the market and we’ve listened to retailer feedback on the products that already exist and what they feel is missing, in terms of design and innovation and we’ve created product based on that.”