Bathstore
Encyclopedia
Bathstore.com Ltd., trading as Bathstore is a specialist bathroom
retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom
. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena. The company published one catalogue that contained all its products for the complete bathroom, with real retail prices and revolutionised the market. The ethos was to make it simple and easy for the end consumer by focusing on the home owner, rather than the trade buyer.
In 2003, Bathstore was acquired by Wolseley Plc
, the global building materials company that owns brands such as Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK. A period of rapid store expansion followed, so that Bathstore had more than 170 showrooms throughout the United Kingdom by the end of 2007. In 2009 the warehousing and delivery operation was transferred to DHL Supply Chain at their facility at the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal
near Crick
.
Bathstore employs over 1,000 people across the store network. The company has also pioneered a rigorous training regime for its in store bathroom experts, focused on product knowledge and customer service
.
Bathstore commissions leading European designers to create the latest look for the modern bathroom. Items are sourced worldwide on a Bathstore exclusive basis to ensure the company retains its leading edge in the market with regard to design and value. Given that all products are specified for and by Bathstore, the products are matched for colour and function, thus enabling customers to mix and match across ranges to achieve the look they want.
The quirky blue bath logo and the bold colours used in the Bathstore showroom interiors and literature make it an instantly recognisable brand
. It launched its first television advertising campaign in December 2006. In November 2007 its television advertisements used cutting edge CGI
technology for the first time, incorporating water animation to bring life and movement to the products being showcased. These advertisements were voiced by Spooks
and Cold Feet
star, Hermione Norris
.
The success of the brand has been recognised by Bathstore being nominated and short listed for the Retail Week Awards as the Best Specialist Retailer in 2007 and 2008.
Bathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
retailer and is the largest in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Bathstore was originally started in the early 1990s by Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer, with the idea to bring quality design led bathrooms into a wider retail arena. The company published one catalogue that contained all its products for the complete bathroom, with real retail prices and revolutionised the market. The ethos was to make it simple and easy for the end consumer by focusing on the home owner, rather than the trade buyer.
In 2003, Bathstore was acquired by Wolseley Plc
Wolseley (builders' merchant)
Wolseley plc is a global building materials supplier company headquartered near Reading, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest heating and plumbing distributor to the professional market and has approximately 47,000 employees in 25 countries...
, the global building materials company that owns brands such as Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK. A period of rapid store expansion followed, so that Bathstore had more than 170 showrooms throughout the United Kingdom by the end of 2007. In 2009 the warehousing and delivery operation was transferred to DHL Supply Chain at their facility at the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal
Daventry International Railfreight Terminal
Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal is a rail port and logistics centre located near Rugby, Warwickshire and Crick, Northamptonshire just south of the beginning of the M6 Motorway and near junction 18 of the M1 motorway...
near Crick
Crick, Northamptonshire
Crick is a village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the border with Warwickshire, west of Rugby and north-west of Northampton. The villages of Crick and West Haddon were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampton when the...
.
Bathstore employs over 1,000 people across the store network. The company has also pioneered a rigorous training regime for its in store bathroom experts, focused on product knowledge and customer service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
.
Bathstore commissions leading European designers to create the latest look for the modern bathroom. Items are sourced worldwide on a Bathstore exclusive basis to ensure the company retains its leading edge in the market with regard to design and value. Given that all products are specified for and by Bathstore, the products are matched for colour and function, thus enabling customers to mix and match across ranges to achieve the look they want.
The quirky blue bath logo and the bold colours used in the Bathstore showroom interiors and literature make it an instantly recognisable brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
. It launched its first television advertising campaign in December 2006. In November 2007 its television advertisements used cutting edge CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
technology for the first time, incorporating water animation to bring life and movement to the products being showcased. These advertisements were voiced by Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
and Cold Feet
Cold Feet
Cold Feet is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his award-winning 1997 Comedy Premiere of the same name. The storyline follows three couples experiencing the...
star, Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris
Hermione Norris is an English actress.Norris attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1980s before taking small roles in theatre and on television. In 1996, she was cast in her breakout role of Karen Marsden in the comedy drama television series Cold Feet...
.
The success of the brand has been recognised by Bathstore being nominated and short listed for the Retail Week Awards as the Best Specialist Retailer in 2007 and 2008.