Bathroom Brands reported the company is navigating the “stormy waters” of the economy, with a focus on its design credentials and collaboration with retail partners.

Group marketing director Juan Pillay

At its Summer Celebration, group marketing director Juan Pillay said: “That post pandemic bounce back and glow has stopped bouncing and stopped glowing.

“In fact, what many of us have seen is stormy waters. We’ve really had to navigate some of those stormy waters.”

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He said Brexit issues were further complicated by the war in the Ukraine and subsequent inflation and cost-of-living crisis.

However, Pillay pointed out the business is robust, “finding new space, finding new products, finding new ways of trading and really driving that spirit of resilience”.

It has seen the company augment its brands of Crosswater, Burlington and Britton, with a relaunch of Clearwater planned for next year, and with a focus on the design credentials of the company.

Among its recent hero product launches, Crosswater has seen the addition of three brassware ranges, additional shower enclosure finishes, coloured cloakroom basins, bathroom furniture for small spaces, and for the first time lighting.

Burlington also saw the launch of a green furniture finish, walk-in shower enclosure, Brushed Nickel brassware and coloured Bespoke by Burlington ceramics, while modular and customisable Hackney furniture was added to Britton.

Group head of brand and trade marketing Richard Ticehurst commented: “All the new products drive us towards that goal to be a complete bathroom solution provider in every single one of those brands. That’s where we’re going.”

Bathroom Brands focused on working with a select network of retailers with its “Winning with the winners” program, last year, which has now become an ethos of the business,

Pillay explained: “Winning with the Winners is for us, focusing on the few, working in a trusted partnership.

“We don’t, we can’t, and we won’t work with every single person, so making judgements and making choices about who we work with and how we work with them have to come to form the spirit of the way that we want to do things in a collaborative way.”

The company has also concentrated on the importance of storytelling in the marketplace, to support its product launches and the sales funnel.

Alongside lifestyle shots, it created abstract imagery to entice the design community, but which has also been embraced by retailers in their showroom

However, Bathroom Brands has also focused on the growth of digital marketing, to create a “collision of design, social media and influencers”, explained Pillay, who added: “This is creating valuable reach for us.”

Juan Pillay concluded: “All these things leave us with a really great foundation to continue that journey into 2023 and beyond.”