Maximising the value of a property to its full potential is the cornerstone of the development sector. In this Ask the Expert feature, Editor Joseph Clarke sits down with Gary Redgwell, National Sales Manager- Contracts & Developments at Roper Rhodes
Roper Rhodes Group is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of bathroom furniture and bathroom products, with over 40 years of experience in designing and developing beautiful bathrooms.
Roper Rhodes designs functional, stylish and seamlessly put together products, incorporating contemporary and classic designs of bathroom furniture, sanitaryware, showers, taps, accessories, cabinets, mirrors, bath panels and toilet seats in a wide variety of colours, materials, and finishes. From the humble tap to the superb furniture collections, you can be sure your Roper Rhodes products have been developed to the highest possible standards.
Appropriately based in the city of Bath, Roper Rhodes was established in 1979 and has maintained a solid commitment to staff and the local community since. Sustainability is at the heart of the group’s mission, having undertaken a number of key environmental initiatives over the past five years and achieved energy self-sufficiency in 2022.
Gary, could you tell us a little more about the brand and its role in the housing and development sector?
We at the Roper Rhodes Group, which incorporates the Roper Rhodes, Tavistock and R2 brands, are one of the UK’s key bathroom manufacturers. Market leaders in bathroom furniture, we nonetheless have a strong multi-category provision – with a portfolio that ranges from modular and fitted furniture to sanitaryware, brassware, mirrors, cabinets and accessories.
Central to our offering is our dedicated Contracts & Developers team, supporting national and regional housebuilders as well as social housing contracts. With the combined experience of over 20 years in the industry, our five-strong sales team have expert knowledge of the building process, providing guidance and management from initial brief through to project delivery.
The events of the past five years have radically reshaped consumer behaviour, how has Roper Rhodes met with this challenge?
Recent years have had a fundamental impact on how people view their homes along with the plans we have for them. With a large amount of time now being spent working from home, the requirements of homeowners have changed with a renewed focus on upgrading and refurbishment to cater for their new living styles. Every room in the house is a considered design space, and bathrooms are a key aspect of this. Basic is no longer an option – consumers are more discerning, more influenced by aesthetics and have higher expectations in terms of customisation and making a space their own.
Likewise, how has the landscape changed within the housebuilder industry?
Over the past two years, the global supply chain shortages and rising energy and raw material costs have presented significant challenges for UK housebuilders. Fixed construction costs have increased substantially, and while there is still strong consumer demand due to a shortage of new homes, higher building costs can negatively affect a developer’s profit per plot. Housebuilders must find ways to boost revenue streams and profitability per plot during times of economic uncertainty. The financial landscape has changed considerably of late and coupled with the cost-of-living impact, consumers are increasingly looking for more for their investment.
How can personalisation and upgrades help to navigate these changes?
The positive news is that house purchasers are a resilient group, and once committed to their purchase, are spending more time and finance in customising their homes to suit their living styles and aspirations. At Roper Rhodes we are leading the way in helping achieve the dual goal of consumer and developer ambitions through the option of providing a market leading customer upgrade package of bathroom products. This allows the home purchaser to customise their bathroom through the introduction of products offering design, style, practicality and technology, and the housebuilder the platform to create all important additional revenue streams through upgrade sales.
Roper Rhodes have been supplying bathroom products for housebuilder upgrades for several years and have experienced first-hand the importance of how effectively a good offer can generate increased sales, with average upgrade sales ranging between £10,000 – £15,000 per plot being achieved on new build properties, developers are benefiting from the much-welcomed increase in sales and profitability, and the purchaser with a customised bathroom that goes beyond being just a functional environment. In simple terms it comes down to making the most of a sales opportunity with a captive audience.
How has your product design team met with this opportunity?
What sets us apart at Roper Rhodes is our ability to identify a consumers need for products that will enhance their bathrooms in the key areas of storage, design, style, and technology; and innovation and customisation are the central tenets of every design brief.
We measure our success through our product vitality index, which gauges the percentage of annual revenue generated by products launched within the past three years. To achieve a high vitality score, you not only have to invest in and launch a high rate of products, but those products also must perform. Established principles are that those companies with a product vitality of greater than 25% are likely to be market leading in their sector. Our vitality index across our total sales is 32%, with the highest performer at 58% and the lowest at 25%, across our four main product categories of Furniture, Brassware, Sanitaryware, and Mirrors/Cabinets.
These figures represent our continued commitment to creating innovative products as well as broadening our existing ranges to offer numerous options for customisation. A clear example of this is the achievement of securing a Red Dot award in 2022 for the innovative design of our Loop mirror range, as well as our extensive furniture options- allowing consumers to bring a singular touch to their bathroom, without the cost of a bespoke build.
While traditionally known as a furniture brand, in actuality our product scope is one of the broadest in the sector – from furniture to sanitaryware, to brassware, mirrors, cabinets and accessories. Ultimately, our innovative solutions combined with our comprehensive product provision offers ample choice for the consumer and a valuable revenue opportunity to the developer.
How could a housebuilder provide options for personalisation and bathroom upgrades?
Very easily! We look to remove the complexity of upgrades being offered by simplifying the product selection along with providing additional marketing, training, and design support to the developer.
After initial consultation with a dedicated accounts manager, we supply each developer with a tailored upgrade package that includes a product offering that can be as broad or as specific as required. This is bolstered by a personalised marketing suite that includes a dedicated white label brochure, point of sale and selling aids to offer a retail experience to the consumer.
Our contracts team offer project management at every stage of the upgrades process. At Roper Rhodes, we are fortunate to have a strong supply infrastructure, with over £50M in stock value and a long standing relationship with leading builders merchants, which allows us to deliver materials in tandem with the build schedule. Finally, we offer a dedicated aftercare service to ensure all aspects of the project run smoothly, from concept to completion.
The growing consumer appetite for personalisation is changing the new build landscape, and the opportunities to mine this revenue stream are numerous. Bathroom upgrades offer a simple, timely and effective way to increase the value or your build while offering your customer choice and personalisation. At Roper Rhodes, we strongly believe we are best placed to accommodate this.
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Joseph Clarke
Editor, Showhome
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