2024 was another major year for The kbbreview Podcast, but what were the most listened-to episodes that released this year?
Most listened to episode of 2024: What’s the point of brochures?
Published: May 9
This episode is all about that staple fixture of showrooms and their relationship with the brands they sell – brochures. What do retailers and designers actually use them for? What do they say about the brand? Are too many simply thrown away and wasted?
Such simple things touch on so many different aspects of the day-to-day life of a retailer so we talked it all through with retailers Paul Crow, the MD of Ripples, and Adam Wollerton from Bathroom + Kitchen Eleven in Surrey AND in the supplier’s corner Sofia Charalambous from Origins Living.
2: Do we still need reps on the road?
Published: March 14
Since Covid there has been massive shift in how communication between suppliers and their retailers takes place. The traditional rep-on-the-road model has morphed into a hybrid of some area sales managers and a lot more emails, portals, Zoom, Teams, webinars and the like.
From the suppliers point of view it’s not hard to see why. Reps are expensive and can only cover so much, but technology allows direct communication and exchange of important updates and information easily.
For the retailers, however, they like face-to-face, it’s their bread and butter after all, plus they have potentially dozens of suppliers and that means dozens of portals, emails, updates and Zoom calls to get through – and the onus is on them to do it.
Andy caught up with a few key suppliers to ask them what they think. Is there still a role for the rep on the road, and how do you get important messages across when the inbox is so noisy…
3: How to be a successful retailer – PART ONE
Published: May 16
This is Part One of a two-parter where we talk to winners from the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2024 to get under their skin, hear their stories and see what makes their businesses successful.
As many of you will know, at our awards we give out our Special Achievement trophy. It goes to those individuals who have contributed something very special to their business and the industry as a whole and this year it went to… Paul Rowland from CP Hart.
At the opposite end of the career path, we also gave out the Rising Star of the Year trophy – this goes to individuals under the age of 30 who are making a real impact in their retail business and the 2024 winner was Angelika Kotarska who started her own bathroom retail business – Angelic Bathrooms in Northampton in 2022, aged just 22.
So, you can see where this is going can’t you…we thought it would be a good idea to get them both together and see what lessons they can learn from each other and it’s fascinating stuff.
4: What do retailers REALLY think?
Published: February 1
We kicked off Season 11 of the podcast with a two-parter looking at the results of the kbbreview Retailer Survey 2024. It was our biggest ever survey of independent kitchen and bathroom retailers looking at some of the key questions:
Just what is the average project cost of a kitchen and bathroom? What do they really think about the overall market? What challenges are they dealing with? How do they rate their suppliers? What’s happening with footfall, conversion rates and order value? What confidence do they have for the potentially difficult times ahead?
We teamed up with the boffins at Eureka! Research to survey over 500 retailers and in this and next week’s episodes we’ll be discussing some of the results with a very special panel. We had Liz Pantling-Jones from Lima Kitchens in Milton Keynes, Kenny Luck from Luck & Fuller in Billericay, Alex Jenman from Gainsborough Kitchens in Gainsborough Lincolnshire and Simeon Gabriel, the managing director of Hettich UK.
5: What’s the point of samples?
Published: June 27
After our popular podcast episode about brochures, we also looked at the brochure’s ever-present companion on the showroom shelf – the sample.
Every showroom has them whether it’s for doors, worktops, handles and just about everything else but how do they use them, how do they manage and keep on top of them all, are there too many, and what do you do with them when the new ranges come out?
This is proper shopfloor stuff and we’re talking it all through with a couple of great retailers in the shape of Stuart Luckman from RidgeWey and Al Bruce from Olive & Barr. We also have the supplier’s perspective from Andy Noble, the Managing Director at CDUK.
6: What are YOUR biggest challenges?
Published: February 9
In part Two of our look at the results of The kbbreview Retailer Survey 2024., we take a look at what retailers think of their suppliers – and what suppliers think of retailers.
It’s our biggest ever survey of independent kitchen and bathroom retailers and this week we’re be looking at some of the biggest challenges retailers face – like the wider economy, finding good fitters and why consumer are taking so long to make decisions
We teamed up with the boffins at Eureka! Research to survey over 500 retailers and in this and last week’s episodes we’re discussing some of the results with a very special panel. We have Liz Pantling-Jones from Lima Kitchens in Milton Keynes, Kenny Luck from Luck & Fuller in Billericay, Alex Jenman from Gainsborough Kitchens in Gainsborough Lincolnshire and Simeon Gabriel, the managing director of Hettich UK.
7: How to be a successful retailer – PART TWO
Published: May 23
In this second part of our ‘what makes a successful retailer’ two-parter, we get to hear from our two Retailers Of The Year – Darren Walker from Laings in Inverurie, our Kitchen Retailer of the Year 2024 and Steph Warner from Pier1 Bathrooms in Hove – our Bathroom Retailer of the Year 2024.
These are two very successful and dynamic businesses with two completely different back stories – Laings first opened its doors in 1862, Pier1 in 2019. The Pier1 showroom is about 1,500sqft and Laings is more like 13,500sqft.
Laings employs about 90 people, Pier1….5
And, of course, they’re about as far from each other geographically as it’s possible to get while still being in the UK. So two very different businesses, with two very different perspectives on what it takes to be the Retailer of the Year.
8: Do you want a second showroom?
Published: May 2
In the first episode of Season 12, we looked at that tricky yet often desirable symbol of growth for an independent kbb retailer and that’s…the second showroom.
The vast majority of kbb independents operate out of one showroom, but many often seriously think about another. It’s an obvious way to expand the business but there are plenty of cons to go with the long list of pros.
Finding the right location, spreading yourself too thin, finding people you trust to run it and starting to build a whole new customer base in a different area.
So we talked it all through with a couple of top retailers and friends of the show – Mark Butler from Butler Interiors and Liz Pantling-Jones of Lima Kitchens. Mark took the plunge on a second showroom a few years ago and Liz is seriously considering that move right now.
It’s a really interesting conversation that gets right to the heart of finding that showroom as well as weighing up all the pros and cons…
Published: September 3
For the premiere episode of Season 13, we met the founder of one of the industry’s most enigmatic companies – Paul O’Leary from deVOL.
He and his team have managed to establish the hugely successful deVOL as a true lifestyle brand that, yes, will make you a beautiful traditional kitchen but they do it by inviting you into their world and giving you the warm and uniquely British deVOL experience.
It is based in Cotes Mill, a 16th-century water mill set in twelve acres of natural meadows on the banks of the River Soar, just outside Loughborough and this rambling five-storey building and its gardens have since become synonymous with the deVOL brand and featured heavily in its own Emmy-nominated TV show – For The Love Of Kitchens.
Paul is the embodiment of deVOL and to hear him talk about the philosophy of it and his views on design and his customers is just fascinating as well as just listening to him tell his own personal story, it all makes up an interview that you just don’t want to miss…
10: What’s happening with distribution?
Published: September 10
In the second episode of Season 13, we look into the world of distribution with one of the biggest names in the sector – Waterline.
We had a great interview with Michael Marriott, the new CEO, and sales director Rob Taylor, who’s chalked up an astonishing 39 years with the company.
There are huge changes happening with distribution in the KBB industry – with consolidation, buy outs and big names calling in the administrators. Big brands who always relied on distributors are starting to go direct and margins are getting tighter and tighter across the chain.
Against this backdrop, Waterline has recently launched its first ever bathroom range – an ambitious move into a very crowded market. So why have they done it, what do they think about the direction of distribution in general, and how does a new CEO get under the skin of such a well-established company?
