Malcolm Scott, corporate chair of the KBSA explains: “The main advantage to a corporate business of being a KBSA member is that it can increase their profile significantly and lead to an increase in sales, which is what we have found at Swift Electrical. Our sales to KBSA members have doubled since we started communicating with the KBSA’s 300 retail members, many of which are among the top kitchen, bathroom and bedroom manufacturers in the UK.

“There are many opportunities to engage with the retailers. One example is the KBSA monthly e-newsletter which is issued to all members, free of charge, and features members’ news. Corporate members can include details of new products and offers and target their message direct to the decision makers.

“This has proved to be of great benefit to our organisation especially as KBSA retailers must have their own showrooms. These are professional, upmarket showrooms, usually on high streets rather than industrial units and this is the ideal platform for us to display our products to consumers.”

This is reiterated by Andy Wood, built in sales director of Hoover Candy Group who joined the KBSA earlier this year. He says; “Hoover Candy became corporate members during 2010 as part of a wider strategy for improving the quality of our display base within the UK. We feel that the Association includes members who have the type of showrooms that we want our brand to be presented in.”

The strict monitoring performed by the KBSA is a big advantage to corporate members, as Simon Acres, sales director of Omega Plc explains: “Our strategy at Omega Plc is to always promote ‘best practise’ and we feel that the KBSA has clear guidelines on project management, deposit taking, guarantee issues and consumer complaint processing and is therefore a very effective vehicle for improving customer satisfaction.”

Graham Ball, CEO of the KBSA adds: “The KBSA has worked hard to continually improve its offer and ensure that the benefits are particularly beneficial at a time when many businesses are under pressure.

“We have seen a substantial increase in new corporate members over the last few months with Hoover Candy, Beko, Aga and Fired Earth being the most recent.”

A date for your diary

The KBSA has confirmed that the date of the 2010 AGM will be Thursday 16th September. The event will take place at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire.

This year’s meeting is timed to coincide with the kbbreview kitchen conference so that members can make best use of their time away from the showroom or the office by attending the KBSA AGM and the conference if they wish.

KBSA CEO Graham Ball says: “We hope that members will take this opportunity to join us for the AGM and make the most of the day by attending the kbbreview networking conference.

“The AGM is an important event in the KBSA calendar. It is much more than dealing with new resolutions and the election of officers as we have the opportunity to present a comprehensive review of our activities and share our plans for the future whilst gaining direct feedback from members.”

For further information, please go to the KBSA website at www.kbsa.org.uk

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