Back in March we brought you some thoughts from Derek Miller (via KBB Review) in the UK who asked some serious questions about bathrooms. In this his latest piece, Derek asks that while the average buyer has no brand awareness, at the top end of the market, a good recognised name still counts.
“As a fully paid-up member of the Miserable Old Git Club, I am easily irritated by many aspects of contemporary life; not least of all the interminable stream of adverts and programme sponsorships that bombard us endlessly from our TV screens and radios.
To make matters worse, I can’t switch on my laptop, mobile phone, or iPad without navigating round pop-ups and having my privacy invaded by something called cookies. Now that really takes the biscuit.
The consumers of modern Britain appear to be willing participants in this marketing merry-go-round and apparently have an insatiable appetite for brands and their promotion. Britain’s young people in particular make easy targets for advertising firms with big budgets and an ability to match lifestyle aspirations to product design and image.
But what of the bathroom industry? Are there any bathroom brands out there that come remotely close to BMW, Nike, Apple or Sony in terms of recognition? It appears that I’m not the only anorak interested in this question. In his highly entertaining article, ‘What’s in a name’, Gary Walmsley of Posh Bathing took to his local Bolton boozer, in the name of market research, with the aim of establishing the level of brand recognition enjoyed by bathroom manufacturers in the real world (i.e. not the insular world of the independent bathroom showroom).
Gary assumed the mantle of a famous former Family Fortunes frontman and asked locals what bathroom names they’d heard of. Although more of a Jim ‘you can’t beata bitta bully’ Bowen man myself, Gary’s Les Dennis strategy certainly revealed some very interesting findings.
The highest ‘brand’ recognition accolades went to those bathroom companies who use the same blitz media tactics as previously mentioned, namely Victoria Plumb, Bathstore, and the like. Some old-timers remembered the great names of yesteryear, such as Armitage Shanks and Shires, but largely speaking no major contemporary bathroom manufacturer triggered significant brand recognition in the eyes of Gary’s survey participants.
If we are all being honest, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone in the bathroom industry. With youngsters acquiring new trainers every three to four months and tempting new phone models being released on a weekly basis, famous international brands generate revenues that bathroom manufacturers can only dream of. The marketing budgets of today’s iconic brands are larger than the entire turnover of even the biggest international bathroom manufacturers.
Bearing all this in mind, why is it that Scope and countless other UK showrooms remain committed to brands, some of which have been with us since day one? Does it make any difference to the consumer what brand names they choose for their bathroom and en suite? Without resorting to sweeping generalisations, I would say that, at the lower end of the market, the answer is ‘not really’.
However there is no doubt in my mind that brands remain an integral part of the mid to upper-end market, where clients take a more active role in specification, design, and selection. When customers intend to spend a lot of money on their new bathroom, they believe that a renowned brand provides a safer bet in terms of quality and integrity than a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ unbranded range.
In my experience, higher-end clients may start out with little understanding of bathroom brands, but during the process of design and selection, most become highly knowledgeable about the best quality manufacturers and go on to become ambassadors for not only the showroom that created their beautiful en suite, but the products that went into it.
When I consider the contracts side of our business, virtually 100% of the products chosen by our house-build and hotel clients also come from renowned bathroom manufacturers; which says something about perceptions of quality, integrity, and brand association.
The bathroom industry has undoubtedly changed in recent years and countless unbranded businesses have made a huge impact on the market. If truth be told, however, the majority of their influence can be felt at the entry level of our industry, where many players are engaged in a fight to the bottom. Quality brands will continue to thrive, but only if they don’t take their customers for granted and they continue to invest, innovate, and support.
Although Gary’s research was not a thesis worthy of First Class Honours, it should certainly provide us with some food for thought. I might try out his approach with Mrs Miller – “I’m off to do some market research darling, can you pick me up around midnight?”
I have a few thoughts on this piece – but before I spoil the party – have your say.
PS – apart from our friends in WA – have a great day off!!
