Industry News From kbbreview

FOYNE JONES FORGES TWO NEW PARTNERSHIPS TO DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH

Foyne Jones, will raise the profile of the KBB, Builders Merchant & Home Interiors sectors by partnering with the BiKBBI and national training provider, Didac, specialists in the furniture, wood and merchanting sectors.

Referring to the relationship with the BiKBBI Peter Jones, Foyne Jones Founder & Managing Director comments, “The BiKBBI credo of operating with a ‘Together Stronger’ mentality has always been a quality I support in business, which is why I am so excited to support the institute. Together, we can optimise apprenticeship schemes for the next generation and continue to provide job support for the wider KBB communities. We hope our involvement as a Corporate Sponsor will have a positive impact on the calibre of design talent and exclusive career opportunities our industry is able to take advantage of and I am confident, we can make a difference.”

Damian Walters, BiKBBI, CEO says, “Career support and guidance is extremely important, especially when faced with the challenges from the past 18 months. Peter has a great deal of knowledge and expertise to offer and we look forward to working with the Foyne Jones team in supporting the industry over the coming months and years.”

Foyne Jones is also pleased to announce partnering with national training provider, Didac, an organisation that has established a reputation for delivering quality training.

Based in Bristol, Didac, delivers around 200 work-based Apprenticeships for the KBB, Builders Merchant and Electrical Sectors. These highly soughtafter Professional Development Apprenticeships including Trade Supplier, Business Admin, Warehousing and Team Leading, as well as Furniture and Woodworking Apprenticeships.

The work Foyne Jones and Didac carry out together will be dual-branded, thus doubling the chances of finding the right people for the job and flagging the value of industry partnerships and collaborations. Peter Jones says, “We are getting the message out there straight away with the recruitment of two trainer/assessors with one role based in the Sheffield, South Yorkshire area and the other based in Colchester, North Essex. For me, apprenticeships and attracting our stars of the future is something really close to my heart especially when ‘building back better’ is of huge national significance.” Do you want to protect your company’s future and discover the latest thinking on recruitment and careers? Discuss your team’s needs in confidence with Foyne Jones today:

FRANKE UK ANNOUNCES CHANGES WITHIN ITS DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Franke UK has announced that it is merging the operations of two of its distribution businesses, Sinks & Things in Ashford and The Sink Space in Cricklade, with effect from January 1st 2022. The merged business will operate under the Sinks & Things brand from its current location in Ashford which Franke acquired in January 2020. The Sink Space business, a solus distributor of Carron Phoenix products, will be closed and all warehouse stock and customers transferred across to Sinks & Things ahead of January 1st.

Following a review of both operations at The Sink Space and Sinks & Things, the company will create a simpler business structure, reduce costs and consolidate stockholding in one location, with products available for next day courier delivery.

Sinks & Things currently distributes Franke’s entire portfolio including sinks, taps, waste management products and decorative hoods and, following the merger, it will also offer the full Carron Phoenix range giving customers access to both brands from one single provider. Other products available include Domus Ducting, Interbin waste management and McAlpine plumbing kits.

Sinks & Things will continue to operate as part of Franke’s distribution network which includes Waterline, Swift, Forth & Clyde in Scotland, Bodel in Northern Ireland and Kitchen Accessories Ltd (KAL) in the Republic of Ireland.

Says Neil Clark (pictured), Managing Director of Franke UK, “The post-Covid economy presents both opportunities and challenges and we want to ensure that we are in the best position to deal with them with a stronger, clearer and more streamlined service for our customers. We acquired Sinks & Things pre-pandemic with a view to investing in the business to take it forward with enhanced customer service, delivery and operations and we are staying true to that intention.”

www.franke.com

BATHROOM REFURBS DOWN BUT PROFESSIONAL INSTALLS ON THE RISE

The number of people looking to refurbish their bathrooms fell in January, although more said they would hire a professional to do the work for them.

This trend was highlighted in a survey commissioned by the BMA and carried out by Opinium polled 2,000 UK adults between January 14 and January 18.

The results showed that 23% of the UK population were looking to complete a full bathrooms refurbishment in the next two years compared with 25% in June 2021. But the number of people that said they would hire a professional to do their complete bathroom renovation rose from 66% in June 2021 (and 63% in January 2021) to 67%.

The survey also looked at the number of people considering partial bathroom refurbishments, tap replacements and repairs to any bathroom fitting people were planning over the next two years, compared with June 2021.

The number considering partial bathroom refurbishments fell from 28% to 23% with no increase over June 2021 in those who said they’d hire a professional to do it, although the figure was up from 57% in January 2021.

Similarly, the number looking to carry out tap replacements fell from 31% to 28% and half said they would hire a professional, compared with 46% in June last year.

And in terms of those considering a repair to any bathroom fitting in the next two years, numbers again fell from 36% in June 2021 to 34%, with 50% looking to hire a professional to carry out the work compared with 48% in June 2021 and 46% in January that year.

Commenting on the findings, BMA chief executive Tom Reynolds said: “These latest poll results indicate the appetite for bathroom refurbs remains strong. Throughout the pandemic, the market has been buoyant, and we’re seeing people continue to plan upgrades and improvements to their homes, even if there is a slight dip in expectations, this is in the context of a period of high demand.

“There also seems to be an upward trend for using professionals, as people increasingly recognise the need to employ skilled and expert tradespeople.

“This is great news for the sector, we are seeing an increased desire for quality in the bathroom and installation industries, an indicator of the importance of the refurbishment. Consumer expectations have shifted massively over the past two years and it’s clear to see that in these encouraging poll results.”

WHIRLPOOL ANNOUNCES FOURTH RECORD YEAR FOR SALES

Appliance giant Whirlpool saw sales growth of 13% in 2021 driven by strong consumer demand and “cost-based pricing actions”.

Sales in 2021 hit $21.99 billion (£16.4bn), up from $19.46bn in 2020. Net profits (EBIT) came in at $2.38bn, up 35% from 2020 ($1.76bn).

The corporation also reported a record full-year earnings margin of 8.1% and a record ongoing EBIT margin of 10.8%, which it said fully offset $1bn in raw materials inflation.

Looking purely at its Q4 performance, sales were flat at $5.81bn compared with $5.8bn in the same quarter of 2020, although they were up by 8% on 2019. Q4 profits (EBIT) however were down 24% from $659 million in 2020 to $502m.

In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Q4 sales were down 0.3% to $1.41bn with profits down 50% to $20m. The company predicts “another year of strong growth” for 2022.

WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR BATHROOM TRENDS FOR 2022?

An analysis of Pinterest by Showerstoyou.co.uk has found what consumers search for when planning and researching their dream bathroom.

White bathrooms are the number one trend, with over 150,000 pins and 801 boards on Pinterest. Coming in a close second was marble bathrooms with over 145,000 pins but more boards than white bathrooms with 970 marble dedicated boards.

Classic white and marble bathrooms have remained popular for decades, but the results found there were a lot of trend lead bathroom styles were in the top ten. Industrial bathrooms was third with 139,000 pins on 873 boards. Finally, the old and new bathroom trend mixes modern and classical looks was in fifth place with over 55,000 pins.

The wallpaper in the bathroom was popular and in fourth place with 86,000 pins. While blue and green bathrooms were in sixth and ninth and had 52,300 and 38,400 pins, respectively. Black accents have been popular in bathrooms for many years and were eight in the research with 47,000 pins.

Spa bathrooms have been a staple trend for the last few years and it was number seven in the list with 49,700 pins. While emerging trend Japandi – a mix of Japanese and Scandinavian styling – was in tenth with just over 18,500 pins.