Warrior Bathrooms

Despite being just over a year old, Warrior Bathrooms in County Durham has already made its mark in the local area, thanks to a back-to-basics showroom strategy. 

Words: George Dean // Photography: Richard Sharpe

When they opened the doors to Warrior Bathrooms in late 2024, business owners Craig Marron and Sarah Pickard had a very specific vision in mind for their business.

 “We purposefully want to be a lot more personal with our customers than if they just walked into a big chain bathroom store, where the chaos of the store unfolds around you and you’re sort of pushed into buying something,” Pickard explains. “We want to be a shop that people feel comfortable just popping by, where we can know them by name.” 

After getting the keys to the showroom in spring 2024, the duo wasted no time in converting the space into the charming retail studio it is today – and it was no small feat, as the building required a total refurb to turn it from a closed-down takeaway restaurant into a respectable bathroom showroom.

Sarah’s business partner, Craig, had 18 years of experience working as a bathroom fitter before the opening. Sarah, meanwhile, has spent her career up to this point in a totally different industry, but has been drawing on her client-facing experience to run the showroom.

And from the sounds of things, it’s been a remarkably positive first year.  “The business has definitely gone from strength to strength,” Marron says. “We’ve built working relationships with the local tradespeople here, and we’ve developed a good working relationships with a number of the big bathroom companies.” 

After a successful first year, many new retailers would be comfortable hunkering down and simply continuing with the same strategy. But according to Sarah, after passing the 12 month mark, her and Craig are looking at what works, and what doesn’t, and thinking about making changes to the showroom already.

“We’re definitely going to be spending a lot of the Christmas break thinking abput implementing a few different ideas for us to try in the New Year,” Sarah explains. “One of the big things for us will be looking at changing our marketing a little bit.”

Craig adds: “For instance, we’ve had radio ads running for the last year with a local station, but we’ve not really had anything come from that, so we’ll be exploring what else we can do to get the word out”.

Another big challenge for Warrior Bathrooms will also be a concentrated effort to update many of its displays, with at least three of its bathroom bays scheduled for a refurb in the new year as well.

So with a successful first year behind them, and big changes on the horizon already, 2026 is already shaping up to be another transformative year for the small Warrior Bathrooms team.

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Church Farm Kitchens

A new retailer spun off a building business, Church Farm Kitchens is a showroom and workshop rolled into one. Setting up when the market is so difficult has not been straightforward, but with firm plans, the next year has nothing but promise…

Words: Andrew Davies

Opening a new kitchen showroom in July 2024, right in the middle of one of the toughest trading periods the industry has seen in years, may not sound like perfect timing. But for Charlie and Alex Braidwood, the husband-and-wife team behind Church Farm Kitchens in Worcestershire, it was the moment when many different plans came together.

Tucked away on a working farm in the Worcestershire countryside, it’s a business that mirrors many in such a rural environment – a showroom with their own joinery workshop just a few metres away. It’s a setup rooted in Charlie’s family business, David Smallcombe Ltd, which has been delivering local construction and joinery services for over 30 years. 

“We’ve offered handcrafted joinery for years,” Charlie explains. “As we gained more experience and excitement for kitchen design, it just made sense to create our own kitchen company. We already had the workshop, the skills, and the construction side to support projects that needed a bigger build element. We’re a little different to most retailers because everything is right here in one place.”

Charlie leads all design and creative work, Alex manages the site and carries out fitting, and the workshop is supported by two joiners. 

Expectations for early kitchen sales had to be tempered during the slow market, so the business leaned heavily on the joinery side to keep the workshop turning over. The result has been a diverse portfolio already this year including kitchens, an orangery with a rooflight, a home refurbishment featuring wardrobes and media units, and a full utility/boot room.

“It’s been a struggle starting a company when the industry’s been at its hardest,” Charlie admits. “But offering all aspects of joinery has been our lifeline. It kept us afloat and gave us time to refine what we’re doing.”

The business’s idyllic rural location with farm buildings, animals and rolling countryside, is a major draw once customers arrive, but being based in a small village has made marketing trickier. This is why the recognition as a finalist for the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards’ New Kitchen Showroom of the Year early last year was so important.

“It was a huge confidence boost,” says Charlie. “It told us we were heading in the right direction.”

As it looks ahead, Church Farm Kitchens is focusing on steady, sustainable growth. There are plans for further workshop improvements, more manufacturing efficiencies, continued development of the showroom and a commitment to deepening their craft rather than expanding too quickly.

“We’re building something long-term,” Charlie says. “Slow and steady feels right for us. We’re learning every day – and when the market lifts, we’ll be ready.”

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Innova Care Concepts

Yorkshire-based Innova Care Concepts is transforming the way people live at home with complex care needs, making essential equipment feel natural, personal and anything but clinical.

Words: Matt Baker // Photography: Paul David Drabble

What springs to mind when you think of a showroom for specialist care solutions? For managing director of Innova Care Concepts Tom Hulbert, it isn’t clinical. It’s about redefining what’s possible, both for end-users and the broader marketplace.

Starting out as Yorkshire Care Equipment, the family firm took a transformative step in 2008, focusing on the design, installation, and maintenance of specialist products for complex care environments. “We’re not just selling equipment, we’re creating environments that genuinely enhance quality of life,” Hulbert says, explaining how their in-house design team works hand-in-hand with clients who face life-altering injuries or disabilities.

The consultation process, dubbed UDEP – Understand, Design, Execute, Protect – places client needs at its heart. This is something kbbreview will come back to in a later adopted retailer feature with the company’s designers.

We all know that market challenges are familiar, but diversification remains a routine solution. “If we’d stood still, growth would’ve been elusive,” says Hulbert. Instead, the company has broadened both its product range and remit, from hydrotherapy pools to accessible kitchens.

Innova Care Concepts’ sales and marketing director Bob Oliver agrees, adding: “There’s a major push to design out that clinical feel. Being able to come here and see that you can have a home that works for you, without looking like a hospital, is something our clients value.”

Crucially, the company’s recently refurbished showroom is more than just a display space. Oliver explains, “Clients told us they needed to see and try products as they’d be used at home. We’ve made that possible, and the feedback has been great. There’s nothing else quite like it in the country.”

Innova’s client base mostly comes through professional referrals, but collaboration extends further. “We’re absolutely open to working with other retailers or designers where there’s a skill gap,” Hulbert says. “If a project calls for specialist equipment, we’re keen to support with our experience, while they focus on their strengths.”

Looking ahead, expansion is on the horizon, particularly in more accessible showrooms across the country. “Strategic growth is key,” Hulbert says. “The market is complex, but there’s real appetite for these solutions, especially if they’re presented well.”

With a new showroom opening in the South of England, Innova Care Concepts is bringing its vision of accessible, life-enhancing homes to even more people. By letting clients experience solutions in a setting that feels real and welcoming, the team is helping families regain independence, confidence, and comfort.

It’s a reminder that thoughtful design and specialist care can transform not just a home, but the way people live within it.

Check back with kbbreview throughout the rest of the year as we continue to follow our three new adopted retailers.