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Words: Sean Collins, sales director at MERLYN

When the market is flat and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, you have to keep telling yourself one thing – it doesn’t mean progress isn’t happening; it just means you have to look for it in the right places.

No one is trying to pretend that 2025 hasn’t been really difficult, frustrating and stuck-in-the-mud and from MERLYN’s perspective it has been a year of steady growth. But our strategy of doubling down on fundamentals, staying visible, and choosing positivity has actually meant we’re closing the year feeling pretty confident for what comes next.

We launched multiple new ranges, colours and finishes this year as we firmly believe that new product development is oxygen. It fuels retailers, it energises the category, and it reminds consumers that bathrooms are still a place to express personality and value.

One of the more encouraging signals has been the slow but definite reawakening of the new-build channel. Post-Liz Truss, it all but collapsed, but 2025 finally brought signs of life as housebuilders started buying sites again and, crucially, building on them. 

A healthy new build sector will always be positive for the housing market in general as well as refurbishments. It’s not a surge, but it’s momentum, and that’s what the industry has lacked for too long.

Meanwhile, independent retail – always the heartbeat of our business – has proven remarkably resilient. That’s partly down to the work retailers have done on service and differentiation, and partly because we’ve kept investing in the support they rely on. Customer service remains one of our biggest strengths, and the consistent feedback we receive from retailers reinforces our belief that service is where market share is won when the market itself is shrinking.

Growth, for us, has come from taking market share and that’s why the confidence to invest when others cut back is so important. We’ve increased our marketing spend, added new salespeople, and kept pushing forward where some might be tempted to sit tight and wait. If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that waiting doesn’t work.

Retailers often ask what they should be doing in a climate like this, and my answer is always the same: work out how you stand out. Not by being cheaper, but by being unmistakably you. The best retailers I know understand exactly where their business begins and ends; they know which opportunities to embrace and, more importantly, which to politely decline. Profit isn’t a dirty word,  it’s what allows you to reinvest, remain important to your customers, and build a reputation that outlasts economic cycles.

At MERLYN, we’re also thinking hard about how we fit into the broader landscape of the Norcros Group. Collaboration is becoming a real strategic advantage, and we’re working more closely than ever with our sister brands to present a full-bathroom solution. A great example is our joint presence with VADO at KBB Birmingham, where we’ll be exhibiting on a shared stand space to demonstrate how the group’s collective strength can deliver something much more powerful than any brand alone.

As for 2026, I’m not expecting a dramatic shift. The headwinds we’ve managed this year will follow us into the next, and consumer confidence will take time to fully recover. But the long-term fundamentals of this industry are strong: a chronic shortage of housing, accessible finance, and a growing desire for individuality in home design. Consumers are spending more per bathroom than they ever have.

So I’m heading into 2026 with the same mindset that’s carried us through 2025: stay positive, stay confident, and stay committed to the basics that matter of product, service, and relationships. Those are the constants. Everything else is simply a cycle we’re in.

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