Listen to the full interview with Dean Weston in a special episode of The kbbreview Podcast. You can use the player at the bottom of this post or go straight to it in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Alternatively, simply search ‘kbbreview’ wherever you get your podcasts.

Dean Weston knows retail. Any CV that takes in senior positions at some of the biggest names in home improvement – Magnet, MFI, Allied Carpets, Habitat, Bathstore and SCS – shows that consumers and their shopping habits are in the blood.

But there woud be many that woud see little overlap in the Venn diagram of those mass market brands and the premium offering of bathroom specialist CP Hart.

As Weston sees it, however, the commonalities are the areas that any retailer needs to work on to be successful in today’s market. Efficiency, yield and a forensic view of profitability are vital, even at CP Hart’s position,

This is especially true as Weston’s arrival in March 2025, following the retirement of long-term MD Paul Rowland, also sees him working with the company’s new owner Wolsely.

On the surface, this would all raise concerns that CP Hart is about to go mass market but Weston is keenly aware that part of his initial job is to reassure staff and customers that this is not the case. 

“Protecting the brand is our number one priority,” he says. “I’ve worked across the whole spectrum of the market from the bottom to the top and it’s a lot nicer to be at this end, that’s for certain.”

A candid and avuncular Weston is clearly enjoying his new role and he is realistic about the health of the wider retailer and specifier markets that CP Hart specialises in.

But with 16 showrooms in the chain – including the recently opened Hatch End store – further expansion is still on the cards and Weston is ambitious about the brand’s ability to grow without compromise.

“We need to run efficiently, but still protect what makes us special…”

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Most people will mainly know CP Hart as a premium retail brand, but how does the overall business actually split with other channels?

In its simplest form, we’re probably almost 60/40 retail to trade. If you go a bit deeper, we’ve actually got three real categories: retail, which is what we’re most known for; local trade, so small developers at the high end; and then about a third of our business is contracts. So significant premium developments.

Does that variety give a natural balance? When one part is tough, the others balance it out?

Yes, definitely. Contracts has been in the doldrums for a little while because of the fallout of the Grenfell disaster. Things are tied up in planning for a long time, and then after they finally get through planning, it’s not worth the revenue in building it anymore. But green shoots are forming. We’re starting to get more enquiries, but that won’t really hit our profit and loss for another two years. So we’re heavily focused on retail and local trade because that’s almost instantaneous business.

You’re nine months into the job now – how are you finding it?

I’m really enjoying it. It’s a much smaller business than I’m used to but that’s one of the things I like most about it. It’s a brand I’ve known for years, of course, so when I saw the job advertised it was one of those moments in your professional life where you think ‘yes, I have to be part of that.’ There’s not many brands left around that give you that kind of aspiration. It’s a good team and we’ve made a few changes to the board – a good mix of long-term experience and new blood – and we’ve definitely seen good growth so far from retail and local trade.

You’ve followed a long-serving managing director in Paul Rowland. Is fresh perspective useful, or is it intimidating stepping into those shoes?

Paul achieved so much, he took this business from £6m to £50m so fair play to him, and he left behind a really good business with a lot of good people and a great supply chain. But there’s always room for new ideas and a fresh perspective in every business and I’m really
 enjoying that.

You’ve joined at a really tough moment for the market, is that a challenge?

It’s rough, but the market is what the market is. People are spending with our competitors so we need to take that business into ours. Even at our niche, high-end, level of customer, we are having to work harder. 

CP Hart also has a new owner in Wolseley. What are the pros and cons of being part of such a large corporate organisation?

Well, few would say that it’s a natural fit, that’s for certain. Wolseley are a machine – £1.5bn turnover, and they’re heavily into renewables and trade counters. But they are actually really supportive. We’re left to be autonomous most of the time and there are obvious benefits like centralised HR but they’ve been good owners so far. Whether we stay in the stable in the long term, who knows, that’s the nature of big businesses and it’s so far so good for CP Hart.

Your background is big retail – MFI, Bathstore, Magnet, SCS – did you worry people might assume you’d come in and ‘cheapen’ CP Hart?

Of course it matters what people think as CP Hart is so well known but rotecting the brand is our number one priority. I’ve worked across the whole spectrum of the market from the bottom to the top and it’s a lot nicer to be at this end, that’s for certain! So we need to run efficiently, but still protect what makes us special.

How does that wide experience translate into what CP Hart needs now?

We needed a bit more impetus. We perhaps had a little arrogance in the business – the idea that ‘Mrs Jones is automatically going to buy from us’. Well, she’s not, she’s getting quotes elsewhere. So we brought lead management in straightaway and a new CRM system went live in December. We actually exited a key supplier because their attitude to an £80k customer didn’t match ours. We’re asking different questions now and concentrating on analytics, order book conversion and customer service discipline.

Does it help to have such a clear customer profile?

Absolutely. We’ve got a very narrow remit of a certain type of customer in a certain location but that doesn’t necessarily mean they automatically know who we are. We want to expand out of London, but we have to be careful and not assume we have the awareness. Waterloo is the best showroom in the UK, but you can’t rely on that in Wilmslow. 

Where do you want CP Hart to be in three to five years?

Contracts is definitely going to grow and in retail we will expand our store network. We’ve just opened Hatch End, and I think we can get another four or five stores in central London. And then we’re starting a partnership journey with our own-brand brassware and furniture through Ideal Bathrooms. We whittled 2,500 customers down to about 40 who fit the CP Hart profile and around 20 are signed up already.

Franchising is gaining a lot of momentum, is that on the table for CP Hart?

Not right now. I’ve still got scars on my back from franchising at Bathstore! If you get the right partner it can work but we weren’t selective enough back then. We took people because they had the cash. You need the right people for CP Hart above all else, so it’s not on the agenda.

How do you maintain that standard when you’re hiring across the country?

Historically we pay slightly above market rate so we get good people and we keep good people. Designers earn very good money – and they should. It’s a people business and a consultative sale. If a business thinks customers will walk up to the till and buy a £15k bathroom, that’s not how it works. It’s six months of flirting back and forth so experience is irreplaceable.

Do you think this industry truly understands what ‘luxury’ means?

That’s a hard question as luxury is hard to define. For me it’s partly the strength of your supply chain and seeing the commitment to quality that brands like Dornbracht have for example. But it’s also about the experience you get at somewhere like our Waterloo showroom so it’s a series of tiny meaningful things.

What’s your outlook for 2026?

I’m very optimistic for 2026, we’ve definitely seen green shoots. Planning conversations are improving and our Winter sale has hit the ground running. Even though we’re premium, there’s no question that promotions still drive footfall – the British psyche always wants a deal – but overall, I think we should be in for a good year.

Listen to the full interview with Dean Weston in a special episode of The kbbreview Podcast using the player below.