News May 2010

Plant MD quits company

Following its recent acquisition by 20:20, Planit International's managing director Alastair McPheat has now left the company,
McPheat joined Planit International as UK sales manager in 1997, with responsibilities for accounts such as MFI, John Lewis, and was appointed MD in January 2006.
He trained as an interior designer and his early career focused on designing and selling high value equipment with specialist retailers in Yorkshire and London.

In 1978, he moved to Foster Beard - later to become Blanco UK - where he held a number of sales and marketing positions. Managing director of 20:20, Craig Rothwell will take on McPheat's responsibilities until further notice.

PJH opens London design centre

Bathroom and kitchen distributor, PJH Group has marked the opening of its design centre in London by hosting a two-day preview event for its customers.

Measuring 4,470 sq ft, the showroom is based in Enfield and features 20 displays, including Moods bathroom collection as well as its K-Kitchen ranges.

It has been created to support its stockists in the south of England and to complement its current showroom in the Midlands. Sales director for PJH, Steve Johnstone explained: "We are committed to continuously improving the service we provide to our customers and our constantly evolving product portfolio is central to the success of this.

Frontline bathrooms

Bathroom distributor Frontline Bathrooms is more profitable than JCB, Sunseeker yachts and Caffe Nero, according to The Sunday Times.
Frontline Bathrooms is listed 57th in its Profit Track 100 of Britain's fastest growing companies.
Founded in 1991, Frontline Bathrooms services around 2,000 independent retailers and merchants, nationwide, with itsoffering of 6,000 products.

The company has boosted its profits by 61 percent a year, from £813,000 in 2003 to £3.4million in 2006. Employing over 70 staff members, Frontline Bathrooms made sales of £17.5million in 2006 to 2007. On hearing the news of his company's inclusion, Stuart Greenwood, director of Frontline Bathrooms, said:"To appear in the Sunday Times profit track 100 is a huge achievement for Frontline. It is a testament to the effort and dedication of our entire team."

UK launch for interiors trade body

High profile professionals have joined together to create the Society of British Interior Designers (SBID), a trade body for those working in residential and commercial design.

It aims to establish guidelines and boundaries of professional, legal and ethical conduct with a view to encouraging Government-driven legislation and regulation.

The Society will cover all aspects of the industry and will work to build and develop relationships between designers, suppliers, manufacturers and educational establishments.
In addition, it will also act as an independent, inspection body to regulate and arbitrate disputes and issue guidelines for dispute resolution.

The SBID will offer information on products, trends and technology, a CPD programme, as well as joint venture contracts within the UK.
National director of the SBID, George Bond said: "Unlike a number of other countries, the UK does not have a 'standard bearer' organisation which represents the interest of the entire interior design profession, promoting best practice, fostering growth and raising standards.
"The noticeable absence of such an organisation has held the industry back, and is in marked contrast to other related UK trades and professions in the overall design and building chain such as architecture, surveying and engineering."

He added: "The UK is widely regarded as the leading centre in the world for interior design. It is therefore imperative that first class support and governance is provided for interior designers so that the highest standards are established and maintained."

Gas oven warning issued

Beko and Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (GDHA) have issued warnings about a potential risk of carbon monoxide build up, relating to gas cookers with separate oven and grill.

The warning relates to models in Beko's Leisure and Flavel brands and selected GDHA's New World and Belling appliances. If the grills on these models are used when the grill door is closed, an unsafe build up of carbon monoxide can occur.
Issued in a statement, Beko said that it was "aware that six cases of carbon monoxide poisoning are being investigated, which are or may be connected to the incorrect use of the cookers".

Managing director of Beko, Clayton Witter said: "We were surprised and saddened when we learned of these events and our thoughts are with the families and we want to do all we can to increase awareness of the risk".
Both Beko and GDHA have been working closely with Trading Standards to bring the concern to the attention of consumers.

A GDHA company spokesperson said: "We are very concerned about this issue and would like to reassure all our customers that we have worked closely with Trading Standards to ensure that all the necessary safety measures have been put in place. We are doing everything we can to resolve the siituation quickly to give complete peace of mind to
those who may still have concerns regarding the products. We take this matter very seriously indeed."

Both companies have alerted retailers to make them aware of the potential risk.
Witter commented: "The safety of all Beko products is our highest priority. Every one of our products is manufactured in compliance with and approved to all current safety standards."

Masco suffers in global dowturn in sales

The U.S. corporation, Masco that owns companies and brands such as Bristan, Moores Furniture, Huppe and Hansgrohe, has seen its sales drop by over a quarter in the first quarter of the year.

For the first 90 days ending on March 31, the company's sales stood at £1.27bn, down from £1.7bn for the same time last year.
It blames the continuing downturn in consumers not spending on home improvement products and construction .

It means that pre-tax profit has fallen from $70m period in 2007/2008, to aregistering a loss of £44m for 2008-9.
The company says it is continuing to `focus on rationalisation - which in real terms job losses, factories closing . In the first ninety days of 2009 Masco closed 2 factories and lost 3000 employees lost their jobs.

Since 2006, it has closed 19 manufacturing plants by over 85. These drastic measures along with other changes, duced its North American headcount by a half in just over 2 years. In its' report Masco said the future doesn't look bright at all. They predict that the overall sales for 2009 should be the same as the last quarter - a whopping 20 to 25% down on last year.

Whirlpool suffers decline in sales

Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation saw its sales fall by nearly a quarter during the first quarter of the year as the pound against the Dollar and Euro as well as the recession took its' toll.

The company reported net sales of £2.4bn for the first ninety days of 2009, down a quarter compared to the same period last year. This would have only been 14% if the pound haden't fallen so far.

The European arm of Whirlpool had first quarter sales of £463m, a quarter decrease on the previous year but half of that decline was due to currency effects. Overall industry unit demand during the quarter fell by 14%.

Last year the European arm of Whirlpool made £30m but was expecting to break even this year. They also expect sales to decrease by 10% this year.

Travis Perkins buys into tiles

Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has bought a 49% share in Leeds-based, natural stone distributor The Mosaic Tile Company, for an undisclosed sum. The Mosaic Tile Company which includes trading divisions; Romana Tile Company, Verona Stone Company and Stone Nation, was founded by Adrian Hinchcliffe in 2000. Hinchcliffe will retain a 51 % share of the company, which had a turnover of £8million last year, and will remain as managing director. The Mosaic Tile company is an importer and distributor of natural stone and Travis Perkins retail tiles through Tile Giant and Wickes.

Speaking about the deal, Adrian Hinchcliffe said: I am extremely flattered that Travis Perkins identified the success and potential of the company prior to its approach. "Investment from such a successful and reputable company will enable us to bring our expansion programme forward, so that we can now push on to our next stage of growth. "I can assure my loyal customers that it will continue to be business as usual, with the added advantage that we will now be able to supply them with an even larger range of natural stone."

Commenting on behalf of Travis Perkins, chief operating officer John Carter commented: "We have built up an excellent relationship with Adrian over a number of years. His knowledge of the industry and the experience of his team in sourcing and supplying high quality natural stone is unparallelled in the industry. It’s another exciting development for the Travis Perkins Group and we look forward to welcoming them to the team."