Page 30 - HW August 2020

kitchens & bathrooms
Create your own style
with Kohler
Offering a wide range of tapware combinations, Kohler’s new Components Collection for the bathroom (photo below) invites consumers to design their own signature look by combining a faucet spout with their choice style of handles.
Ideal for limited spaces, is the Reach II rimless back to wall toilet. With a contemporary, ared straight skirt and HygieneMAX rimless pan so it’s both good looking, easy to clean and is available in two comfortable seat types (wrap over and slim).
Also new, the minimalist Evok freestanding back-to-wall bath (top photo) brings with it the additional advantage that users aren’t con ned to using freestanding bath llers. In addition, because it sits ush to the wall, it can be paired with a range of Kohler wall-mounted bath spouts and mixers.
https://kohler.co.nz/
eresa Humphreys must take a broader view.
Having said this, there’s still common ground around what’s
hot and what’s not, and, as you’ll see later, it’s possible that the perceived gap in the o ering between the specialists and retailers or merchants is actually shrinking.
For example, dare I say one’s lasting impression of a DIY retailer’s kitchen o ering is slightly “vanilla” – light, white with a bit of timber.
Not any more – having introduced matt black nishes with timber at Mitre 10’s last Homeshow presence, feedback was “unbelievably positive”, to the point where the co-op’s showroom update nationwide now leads with timber and matt black kitchens “front and centre”.
Says eresa Humphreys: “Matt black is our number two seller nationally, behind whites, and it’s showing absolutely no
signs of subsiding whatsoever.
“So, we feel we’ve taken what’s traditionally a very designer
looking kitchen and made it accessible to the average Kiwi consumer.”
Now, about colour... “We are de nitely seeing colour
coming back. New Zealanders are a little bit more traditionally conservative than, for example, in Europe with colour choices, but what we are seeing is more deep blues and greens emerging, paired with gold tapware.”
“Dark inky blues” are the coming colourway, says eresa, in both kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and Mitre 10 will be looking to match that with lighting, tapware, handles as well as obviously the cabinetry nishes.
“Metallic, aged coppers textures and cement are still playing quite a strong part in current trends, as are open shelves in kitchens and bathrooms and clean design.”
In bathroom, there’s also a clear shift in demand oorstanding towards wall hung vanities; “A lot of customers are really embracing that clean look and we see that dynamic continuing, particularly within bathrooms.”
In tapware, Mitre 10’s number one sellers are chrome, followed by black, gunmetal and then brushed brass.
SPECIALISTS LOOK OUT!
As with Mitre 10, PlaceMakers has spent serious time, e ort and money in improving its heating as well as kitchen and bathroom showrooms.
And Gary Woodhouse, PlaceMakers’ General Manager Operations & Marketing, says it’s been worth it: “For the last three to ve years, particularly, we’ve spent a lot of time and e ort and money upgrading a number of our facilities.
“As a result we’ve been seeing a lot of growth,” he says, adding that this growth has not necessarily come from “traditional competitors”.
Speci cally, he says “We’re really comfortable that we are able to compete with specialists a lot better than perhaps we were three years ago.”
Liz Aitken agrees that the investment in full in-store showcases has given PlaceMakers extra leverage: “Most of our showrooms now are really beautiful, where customers can see the full o er.
“So I think we do have an advantage over the kitchen or bathroom specialists.”
Where to next for the hardware channel and kitchens & bathrooms – could it look to take on other kitchen or bathroom- related specialists?
I say this because, during my digging around, I detected both real satisfaction over the appliance brands currently available to and through the hardware channel as well as more than a little brand envy around what’s available to appliance retailers.
Could this mean we might see DIY retailers and merchants, armed with the best-known brands, taking on the appliance channel (a battle which was won in the USA by DIY years ago)?
One response was this: “ at’s something we’re very open to ... basically, watch this space.”
28 NZHJ | AUGUST 2020
MORE AT www.hardwarejournal.co.nz