Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this episode was recorded LIVE today (June 24, 2025) at the InstallerSHOW 2025.

Today we’re talking about the most important topic of all at the moment – and that’s the health of the kbb independent retailer market after a difficult couple of years.

We did a snapshot survey of retailers a couple of months ago and the results were very mixed. Nearly a quarter said they're more confident than ever about the health of their business, while one in five said they are worried or extremely worried about the future of their business…

Nearly half said they expected the market to get better before the end of the year, but 15% still say they think the market will get worse in 2025.

So what’s going on?

Joining Andy today were top retailers, and friends of the show Trevor Scott from RFK in Rugby; Tina Riley from Modern Homes in Leamington Spa; Luke Wedgbury from Coalville Kitchens in Coalville and Liz Pantling-Jones from Lima Kitchens in Milton Keynes.

We're talking....

• How their business is right now
• How increases in supplier prices are affecting their business
• Whether supplier service levels have dropped as they manage their own costs
• How consumers are behaving and whether they're decision making process continues to drag
• How difficult it is to find good staff - including installers
• How they're tackling the market head on to drive footfall and leads

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies and this is Episode Three of Season 15.

We've got a great interview for you today - Phil Cole, the co-owner of Clive Christian.

Founded in 1978 by Clive, it has become one of the few well-known kitchen brands in the ultra luxury arena - certainly in the traditional style.

It's had it's ups and downs though as we will hear, going into administration in April 2022. That's where the then global sales director Phil Cole bought the company with Jim Denos - the owner of the US operations.

So we'll hear all about that, how the luxury market is performing, what people expect for the kind of costs they deal in, how discretion is a valuable skill, finding skilled artisans, how to keep growing and lots and lots more.

Andy met up with Phil at their flagship London showroom - which is actually a beautiful townhouse in Kensington and sat at a desk in a proper wood-panelled office...

But first….

We're only a WEEK away from the InstallerShow at the NEC where everyday at 1:30 on the Kitchen Of The Future stand we'll be recording a LIVE episode of this very podcast.

• On Tuesday the 24th we'll have a panel of top retailers discussing the health of the market
• On Wednesday 25th we've got some greatest accessible design experts giving us some proper top tips
• On Thursday 26th we're looking at how small to medium, sized KBB showrooms can use social media to grow their business.

So that's 1:30 on the Kitchen Of The Future stand come along listen in, join in or just say hello.

Go to installershow.com to register for your FREE ticket.

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Welcome to another very special bonus episode of The kbbreview Podcast, you host is Andy Davies and today we've got a really interesting conversation with Rob Ginsberg from hib.

Until very recently it was better known as H.I.B and was founded by Rob's father Warren Ginsberg 35 years ago. But it has undergone a major rebrand - and subtle name change - to underline its status as one of the leading accessories suppliers in the bathroom industry.

So new name, new brand, new ranges, new products and new philosophy and strategy all underpinned by decades of heritage, industry knowledge and experience.

And Rob is going to talk us through it all.

You can find out more about them at hib.co.uk

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andrew Davies and this is Episode Two of Season 15.

This week we're building up to the InstallerSHOW - the huge exhibition of all things plumbing, heating, electrical, renewables AND, of course, kitchens and bathrooms.

It's at the NEC on June 24th, 25th and 26th and it is packed with loads of product, obviously, but also networking, demos, seminars and training as well as, most importantly, LIVE recordings of this very podcast.

You can come along and see us at 13:30 every day at the Kitchen Of The Future stage.

The InstallerSHOW may be in its 10th year but it's still growing all the time. While the dedicated kitchen and bathroom section is relatively new it is also growing and this year it is packed with loads of top brands and content 100% relevant for KBB retailers.

So we really do recommend coming along but if that isn't enough - and it almost certainly isn't - then we really recommend listening to this episode with the organiser MIke Costain. You can let him tell you all about the show, what's there, what to see, what's in it for you and what's next.

You can register for your free ticket now, as well as find out everything you need to know, at installershow.com.

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, your host is Andy Davies, and this is a very special bonus episode where we catch up with one of the biggest brands in the sector - InSinkErator.

They've got a bold new strategy, an eye-catching rebrand and a cutting-edge product launch with their new Next Generation range. They're reinventing the food waste disposal market yet again and Andy caught up with managing director Ashley Munden on changing markets, colourful campaigns and the science behind food waste solutions.

You can find out more at insinkerator.co.uk

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Welcome to a new season of The kbbreview Podcast, your host as always is Andy Davies and we're kicking it off with a very special and exclusive interview with Dr Reinhard Zinkann - one of the two co-owners of Miele.

Andy met him at the global appliance giant's new Experience Centre showroom bang in the middle of Wigmore Street in London.

Dr Zinkann's view of the market is about as top level as it gets so...

• What is his take on the current state of the market?
• What is the strategy behind the rollout of the Experience Centres and what it means for their independent dealers?
• Can dealers make a decent margin on appliances?
• Market was in disarray during lockdown boom - what lessons has he taken forward?

The InstallerSHOW 2025 is coming up at the end of June and we'll be there every day doing a LIVE episode recording of this very podcast. The show runs on June 24, 25 and 26 at the NEC and every day at 13:30 you can come and see us at the Kitchen Of The Future stand. For more info and to get your FREE ticket to the show go to installershow.com and I'll put that link in the episode description.

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast and the first of TWO very special episodes coming live from Blackpool and the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2025.

Since we launched these awards back in September we've been putting out special monthly awards episodes talking to judges, organisers and finalists and it's all thanks to our 2025 Awards Podcast Partner Sonas Bathrooms.

You can find out more about them at sonasbathrooms.com

Your awards podcast host Matt Baker managed to find a quiet-ish spot at the back of the legendary Tower Ballroom where he also found our very kbbreview managing editor Andrew Davies.

We grabbed all our winners as they came off stage so we're hearing from them all split it over a couple of episodes. In Part One we heard from our design winners as well as the Special Achievement Award and now, in Part Two, we're catching up with all of our business category finalists, including the Kitchen Retailer Of The Year and Bathroom Retailer Of The Year.

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Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast and the first of TWO very special episodes coming live from Blackpool and the kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2025.

Since we launched these awards back in September we've been putting out special monthly awards episodes talking to judges, organisers and finalists and it's all thanks to our 2025 Awards Podcast Partner Sonas Bathrooms.

You can find out more about them at sonasbathrooms.com

Your awards podcast host Matt Baker managed to find a quiet-ish spot at the back of the legendary Tower Ballroom where he also found our very kbbreview managing editor Andrew Davies.

We grabbed all our winners as they came off stage so we're going to hear from them all split it over a couple of episodes. So, in this first one, we'll hear from our design winners as well as Andrew giving out the Special Achievement Award.

In the next episode you'll hear all of our business category finalists, including the Kitchen Retailer Of The Year and Bathroom Retailer Of The Year.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.