The KBzine

KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
20th January 2017

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International News
Products

Celebrate the trend for the 'fifth wall' with the Feature Floors collection from the House of British Ceramic Tile

There's a new design movement sweeping through homes. First it was the feature wall; then it was all about the ceiling. Now it's the 'fifth wall'; floors that demand serious attention. Gone are the days of plain surfaces without personality, today's floors are much more visually exciting with ceramic tiles now delivering the wow factor.
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Blomberg slimline dishwasher awarded Which? Best Buy

The Euronics exclusive Blomberg built-in slimline dishwasher, the LDVS2284, has been awarded a sought after 'Best Buy' rating from Which?, as well as being given an 'Energy Saver' label. The appliance impressed the testing team for its cleaning and drying standards, and for being 'very energy efficient'.
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Creative and considered storage with PWS's YouBoXx

PWS, exclusive UK distributor of Kesseböhmer, has enhanced its comprehensive portfolio of clever storage solutions with YouBoXx.
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Raise the Bar with new Cluster and Bohemia Contemporary towel warmers by Aestus

Why not persuade your customers that to go 'off the rails' could be as clever as observing Dry January, if they upgrade their next towel warmer to a stylish heating solution that makes the best use of space and heat in the bathroom?
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Amica moves sales, marketing and service to Nottinghamshire

Following Amica's acquisition of CDA in December 2015, the Amica UK business has been successfully transferred to CDA's impressive facility in Langar, Nottinghamshire. Amica sales, marketing and customer service operations, along with the UK's comprehensive stockholding, have been relocated.
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New research shines a light on what really works in performance management

Performance appraisals won't automatically lead to improvements, but it's equally misguided to say that they'll never work and should simply be abolished, says the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development in a new report which refutes others' claims that appraisals are a relic of the past.
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AKW promotes independent living on Care England and ITN's 'Caring Communities'

AKW, manufacturer of accessible bathroom, kitchen and mobility support solutions, has been extensively featured on a programme titled 'Caring Communities', produced jointly by ITN Productions and Care England. Now in its third year running, the programme features key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles, exploring the complex role of care and the remarkable initiatives happening in the sector as demand grows exponentially.
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Bespoke Laufen for prefabricated construction

The 42-acre masterplan for Battersea Power Station has generated investment totaling around £8 billion, making it one of the most significant urban developments in the world. As part of phase 1, the first 866 homes out of a total of 3900 are being built and German firm Deba has delivered 1,241 bespoke Laufen bathroom pods on time for integration into these residences.
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Belling enters new market with Sensicare Collection: family favourite launches into laundry market

Renowned appliance manufacturer Belling has announced its entrance into the freestanding home laundry market with the launch of a suite of new products - the Sensicare Collection.

The new collection - which includes four washing machines, a washer-dryer, two tumble dryers and a 15-place setting dishwasher - means Belling now provides a complete range of home appliances.
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British Ceramic Tile's 2017 design trend predictions...

Key colours Greige: Grey has been softened with a mixing of palettes for 2017. Organic, natural and incredibly versatile, greige combines the cool base tones of grey with the earthy qualities of beige. A subtle neutral, greige is the perfect backdrop for accent shades of paprika and rust, as well as vibrant blues and green.
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Outstanding reaction to Utopia's Roseberry Collection

Just four months since the launch, Utopia's Roseberry Collection of luxury painted bathroom furniture is poised to become a best-selling range for the company as demand from showrooms for displays continues to increasealong with consumer interest in the range.
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Gorenje reveals six new stylish extraction hoods

Gorenje has unveiled six new additions to its cooker hoods portfolio including curved glass hoods, chimney hoods, an island hood and a telescopic hood, all of which are available now and come in either 60cm or 90cm configurations.
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Built-in innovation from New World: Design Suites Collection to shake up market

Kitchen appliance brand New World has launched its highest specification collection of built-in appliances to date, at what it believes will be the lowest price point in the market.
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The New Range Generation: GDHA releases report on Range sector

Glen Dimplex Home Appliances has conducted one of the largest surveys of range cookers users in recent times to discover more about them, their cooking habits and how they choose and buy their appliance. GDHA surveyed 2,000 consumers across the UK who had recently bought a Range cooker to help it identify changing customer demographics for the Range cooking sector.
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Welcome to the
KBzine

Have you seen the video that's gone viral on social media, of the OaSense shower that switches itself off when whoever's in the shower, moves out from underneath?

Forgive me if this type of gadget is old hat (I've never come across one before) but what a great idea! I'd always thought that if I wanted to really stop wasting shower water I had to manually turn off the tap while lathering or shampooing and then turn it on again to rinse - bad enough with a mixer, but a real pain if you're struggling to get the temperature right using two taps. The video shows how well it all works. And it's not just water (about 50% of it) that's saved... because the shampoo, conditioner or shower gel you might be using, isn't being constantly blasted with water, you'll save product too... and of course less product used means less strain on your household bills and less damage caused to the environment.

OaSense has a button for easily switching between 'sense' and 'standard' modes to cater for all the household's showering needs and it operates on four AA batteries that switch the unit to 'standard' when they're expiring (after about a year). This means replacing batteries will never be an emergency task - your shower will always work, one way or another! * KBZ-LEADER-pic.jpg

It's often said that the best ideas come to us in the shower and I think the same can be said for Californian Evan Schneider, who, while showering in 2015 and musing on how to beat the drought, realised that a large proportion of shower time is spent doing things that don't require running water, like shampooing and lathering.

Since then, he's designed, tested, and refined this idea into a product that he's trying to launch through a Kickstarter campaign. The campaign started well but sadly didn't meet target and that's when YOO posted a modified version of the video which notched up 250,000 views in the first 24 hours and has moved on to almost 1 million. You can see it at: www.facebook.com/yooDesignStudio/videos/10154087720116044/

Let me know what you think...

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Yours,

* Jan-new-15.jpg

Jan Hobbs

This Week's News

£2.8 million fine for furniture parts cartel

Two firms that make furniture parts have agreed to pay fines totalling £2.8 million for illegal cartel activity, after a Competition and Markets Authority investigation.

The companies, which supply drawer parts to well-known furniture manufacturers such as Silentnight, have admitted that they broke competition law by agreeing not to compete on price and sharing out which customers they would supply - reducing customer choice and giving the appearance of competition where there was none.
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The great escape!

Award-winning bathroom distributor, Frontline Bathrooms, is launching a new customer reward scheme for 2017 called Aquaescapes, which offers customers the opportunity of a once-in-a-lifetime, 5-star, all-inclusive luxury holiday in St Lucia.

Both new and existing customers can register their interest to take part in the scheme from 1st - 28th February. At the end of the registration period qualifying participants will be informed and they will be given specific targets to achieve in order to step closer to this dream getaway.
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Bauhaus beats bathroom blues when it's bitterly cold

For a towel rail that's sure to make an impact, look no further than bathroom furniture specialist Bauhaus's Gallery collection.

Blending both contemporary and traditional radiator designs with the latest in thermal bathroom technology, the exclusive range is guaranteed to add a stunning design feature to any bathroom, en-suite or cloakroom whilst offering the ultimate in premium functionality.
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Age UK Trading CIC & BiKBBI announce strategic partnership

The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom & Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI) has this week announced its latest strategic partnership with Age UK Trading CIC (Community Interest Company). Age UK Trading CIC is a trading subsidiary of Age UK, the UK's largest charity working with older people.

The partnership will see BiKBBI assisting Age UK Trading CIC and its mission to support the country's older population to make the most out of later life, specifically within the bathroom environment.
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Stoves Community Kitchens winners revealed

The latest winners of a community projects fund, launched by British cooking appliance brand, Stoves, have been revealed.

The £20,000 Stoves Community Kitchens campaign aims to place the kitchen at the heart of local communities, helping to transform the kitchen facilities of community groups and charities. The latest round saw almost 200 nominations from across the country, with more than 2,500 votes being cast in the public Facebook vote.
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Gorenje brings the sunshine with new retro fridge

Gorenje, has introduced a new sunrise finish to its hugely successful Retro collection of fridge freezers. Available on Orb freestanding, single-door models, the new Sunrise Retro fridge will add vibrant splashes of colour to any kitchen.

Boasting the highest achievable energy-efficiency rating (A+++), the fridge has a gross capacity of 260 litres and includes IonAir and DynamiCooling food preservation technology.
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Wilsonart UK announce winners of Zenith National Design Competition

Wilsonart UK in County Durham has announced the winners of its nationwide laminate work surface competition during 2016. Designers and retailers were invited to submit designs that utilised the company's new ultra-thin, solid core Zenith laminate introduced earlier in the year.

Ruby Kiernan, marketing executive for Wilsonart UK explains: "We wanted to highlight the amazing uses for Zenith - it's much more than a straightforward laminate. Retailers and installers can work with it on site to create upstands, water fall end panels, open shelves, pet boxes, tray spaces, all kinds of things.
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Mereway going for growth with Trend

Tyseley-based kitchen, bathroom and bedroom manufacturer Mereway Group is looking to grow its Trend Interiors brand in 2017, increasing turnover by 50% and taking market share from the builder and self-build sectors.

"We have ambitious plans for growth," says sales & marketing director Graham Jones. "There is a gap in the market for a quality product and service that is affordable and easy for customers to buy via their builders and installation professionals.
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Kitchen and bathroom inspiration on show in Bury St Edmunds

Bringing high quality, Italian styling and interior design inspiration to the people of Bury St Edmunds and beyond, the new Design Republic showroom is now open.

Founded by Max Spenser-Morris in 2003, Design Republic is one of the leading kitchen & bathroom design specialists in the UK. The showroom, on Risby Business Park, is now home to a stunning array of displays, providing inspiration at every turn, with an experienced design team on hand to turn kitchen and bathroom dreams into reality.
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New Smeg brochures separate different collections

Smeg has published new comprehensive brochures - which distinguish the built-in range from its freestanding collection - and a brochure for its Dolce Stil Novo range.
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Lakes Bathrooms celebrates 30-year anniversary

Shower enclosure specialist, Lakes Bathrooms, recently celebrated a major milestone; its 30th anniversary.
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The KBzine Archive Search

We keep an extensive archive of news stories and product information that have featured in past issues of The KBzine. If you would like to run a search of the The KBzine web site using the search tool below please just go ahead by entering in the name of the person, product or company or any other key words that you are looking for.

How to contact us at The KBzine:

Jan Hobbs
Publishing Editor
Email:[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)1372 811 307
Mobile: 07980 288 373

John Austen
Publishing Director
Email:[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)1580 755 863
Mobile: 07766 707 888

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