Interview: George Dean

Now you’ve officially stepped into the role, what are your priorities for this first year as CEO?

First and foremost, it’s to grow the business. The market’s obviously been challenging, and remains so, but we believe in our plan. We’re very committed to our core – so taps and showers through the wholesale and retail channels is what we are and who we are, and we want to get even better at that.

The other thing we’re looking at is boosting what we call the customer experience. Our customer service is amazing, we’re 4.8 on Trustpilot, but we still want to make it even better. 

Bristan is a key player in the UK – especially in the contract sector – but what really sets it apart?

I’d say it’s quality engineering and reliability. And I think that’s why the installer is so loyal to us. And then the second part of it is, as I’ve just mentioned, our service levels. In fact, we launched our internal purpose recently and it’s: “products that last, service that’s loved”.

For example, we had a wonderful handwritten letter before Christmas last year from a gentleman, 72 years old. And he was so pleased with his service that he sent our customer services team £100 to spend at Tesco to have their Christmas party. I’ve never worked in a business where things like that happen. 

How important is the independent retail channel to Bristan? 

Independent merchants represent about a third of our business, so it’s really significant for us. It’s about the same again, for the nationals. They’re both incredibly important to us and we’ve got distinct teams to support each of them. In fact, I’d say support for independents is critical to us. We’re protective of the size and shape of our sales team, and we’re not going to be changing that any time soon. They’re very much out on the road. 

Many retailers say they don’t think sustainability is priority to most consumers yet. But what do you think about that?

I went to the BMA’s Windsor Summit last year, and honestly it scared me. One of the standout things to me is that the UK will be in water deficit by 2030. We’re not talking just “in our lifetime”, we’re talking around the corner. And I think one of the responsibilities we all have is to start to educate, because I’m in this industry and I wasn’t aware of that.

So we have to start doing something different. For me it’s about the industry firstly taking responsibility for raising awareness with consumers and installers and then making people understand that urgency. You know, people talk about a 50-litre household – but what does that really mean?

Along with sustainability, what other issues are key to your ethos?

One of our principles is doing the right thing. And Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) is incredibly important to us.  I think what we’ve recognised, through the Construction Inclusion Coalition, is it’s going to be difficult to attract and retain diverse talent without making the industry a more inclusive place. It’s the same as the topic of water scarcity for me – we are stronger as a collective.

It’s so important that manufacturers, merchants, and house builders all come together and work really hard to make this an industry where people feel they can be themselves.

Where do you think the market is going to be a year from now?

I’m incredibly hopeful that we’ll be seeing growth again. Although I think what isn’t going to go away is the increased expectations of customers. And rightly so. I don’t think business is necessarily going to get easier. I think even when the market comes back, the challenge is to stand out against the competition.

It’s so important that you focus on what you can control. We don’t spend a huge amount of time worrying about what everybody else is doing. We focus on what we’re good at and getting even better at it and we do a lot of listening to the customer to understand what they want – and then deliver that.