The Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA) has said it believes independent specialist retailers are better positioned than their national-scale competition to navigate cost increases and disruption, and has urged members to use this as a selling point to clients.
The organisation has said it believes smaller retailers are “better placed than volume retailers to navigate the current climate”, which includes the threat of rising import costs and supply chain disruption, issues that the KBSA said can “expose the structural weaknesses of big-box and online retail”.
Explaining its argument, the KBSA says this is because volume and online discount retailers are more heavily reliant on high-volume and import-dependent stock, as well as margin driven pricing. As a result, when supply chains are disrupted, these retailers’ ability to adapt quickly can be limited.
However, the KBSA says that it believes because independent studios often work with a smaller set of suppliers where relationships are built up over several years, and as a result, smaller studios often have “earlier sight of stock pressures and greater flexibility to design around constraints before they affect a client’s project”.
In light of this, the organisation says it is encouraging its members to use “their sourcing intelligence and supplier relationships” as points of differentiation with clients.
“Consumers and trade clients alike are learning, sometimes the hard way, that price and convenience aren’t the whole story,” explains Richard Hibbert, KBSA national chair.
“Expertise, accountability and trusted supplier relationships matter enormously when markets are unpredictable, and that is precisely what our members have built their businesses on. When supply is predictable and prices are stable, that distinction matters less. Right now, it matters a great deal, and we’d encourage every member to make that case clearly and confidently.”
Hibbert continued: “There’s a tendency in this industry to undersell the expertise that sits behind every project. Members know which lines are under pressure, which suppliers have strong UK stock positions, and how to design around a constraint before it becomes a client’s problem. That knowledge has real commercial value. In the current climate, it’s a compelling reason to choose a specialist over any other channel, and members should be saying so loudly.”
Luke Wedgbury, KBSA vice-chair and owner of Coalville Kitchens, added: “We’ve had increased lead times with some products being ‘temporarily unavailable’ meaning we then have to navigate alternatives. Because we know our suppliers well and we’re talking to them regularly, we knew about it before it became a problem for our clients. We were able to redesign around it in most cases without any impact on the project. A customer buying online or from a national chain wouldn’t have had that conversation.”
In related news, earlier this month the KBSA announced a major restructure of its board, which also included the creation of several new roles within the organisation.