Lines in the sand

kbb Birmingham didn't just deliver a record number of enquiries for its exhibitors between 21 - 24 March, it delivered confidence by the bucket load to the sector as a whole.

It's too early to say how many visitors the show attracted this year, that will have to wait until the attendance has been ABC verified, and anything suggested prior to that will be pure speculation.

But the final number of punters does not matter as much as the mood of confidence generated at the show - by its exhibitors, the visitors, and the show itself. The whole industry will benefit from the four days of kbb Birmingham in 2010.

"Springboard" may not be the right expression, but it was obvious that a line in the sand was drawn by kbb Birmingham 2010.

It was as if the show helped to dispel a longing for the business of yesteryear and replaced it with a realistic sense of what lay ahead, and what needs to be done to make the most of the opportunities.

Judging from comments I picked up from several exhibitors, a substantial proportion of the visitors were researching other business areas.

Bathroom companies reported a much higher level of interest from kitchen-only retailers (and vice versa), while one bedroom manufacturer said it had never experienced such a high level of interest in its products from non-bedroom retailers.

Another interesting observation was how busy some of the smaller stands at the show were. Was this a sign that an increasing number of KBB retailers want to have an obvious point of difference between their offer and that of others?

It is no secret that I got more than a tad fed up with the whispering campaign mounted against kbb Birmingham in the run up to the show. To me, and of course I could be accused of bias about this, it seemed madness to be anything other than wildly enthusiastic about the industry's only national trade show.

Was it not, I argued, in everyone's interest that works in the KBB sector to have a national exhibition that was a rip-roaring success?

And a success it undoubtedly was! More KBB business was written, and more qualified leads were taken, during the four days of kbb Birmingham 2010 than at any other time in the last two years.

kbb Birmingham 2010 showed that the 'Faceless Few' who briefed against it were full of hot air, and it is difficult to see how anybody will ever take them seriously again.

Another line in the sand perhaps?

A happy portfolio director writes…

Guest blog by Andrew Vaughan, portfolio director at UBM Live, seen here at kbb Birmingham with Janine Smith, account director at the NEC.
This is my first kbb show as its Event Director, but I already feel like an old pro as the buzz surrounding the show has been going on for two years.

Generally the industry has seen kbb Birmingham as a fantastic opportunity to network and meet clients old and new, but I hope today will silence the show’s few critics – the floor has been packed with visitors, with some queuing from 9am this morning!

At the exhibitors' party last night I managed to speak to dozens of companies, and I’m pleased to report that they were as happy as me. Tired feet aside, they told me that the stands were full of eager visitors looking to source new products for the year ahead.

And there are plenty of those I can tell you. Every company has taken the show as a chance to launch new innovations, some showing hundreds of new products and some displaying just a few key items.

It looks like the show will be a great success, although only the next three days will tell. One things for sure, it’s bound to be better than my team’s performance at the kbbreview Quiz Night! Better luck next time team…

I hope you’ll take the time to visit the show during the next couple of days, after all, it only happens once every two years, and where else do you get the chance to see so many kbb brands under one roof?  Although I’ll probably be limping around the aisles by Wednesday!

Joking aside, it’s great to be onsite with so many happy exhibitors and visitors looking to the future with renewed confidence.

Here’s to the next kbb show…

Training for kbb Birmingham

Thanks to a train crew who couldn't be arsed to turn up for work on Saturday, what should have been a relatively painless journey to the NEC for kbb Birmingham became a feat of endurance.

But even as I prepared for my fifth change of train with a suitcase I swear was actually gaining weight, I was still looking forward to this year's show.

I'd taken part in a Facebook exchange with fellow journalist Martin Allen-Smith earlier on my travels and he'd remarked that "deep down we all look forward to kbb Birmingham", and of course he's spot on.

We do look forward to the show in most years, but this year in particular - after all of the problems we in KBB-Land have been through since kbb Birmingham 2008 - most of us are looking forward to it with even more enthusiasm than usual.

kbb Birmingham 2010 will, I am convinced, mark the turning point for the KBB sector.

We will all go on from this show with more confidence and with a clearer idea of what we need to do to make the most of the opportunities that will arise between now and kbb Birmingham 2012.

I don't know what else you have planned between now and Wednesday 24 March, but trust me, you will kick yourself if you do not spend some of that time at kbb Birmingham 2010.

See you there!

Whirlpool at Eurocucina

The Whirlpool Corporation  will be exhibiting at Eurocucina in April.

The Green Kitchen and the Green Generation zone will feature Whirlpool's green vision and values with an insight into the environmentally responsible design and technology that will improve the quality of life and help the environment.

It will demonstrate the kitchen of our immediate future, building the concept of eco-sustainability into appliances that interact with each other, boosting energy and water efficiency savings to levels of up to 70%.

The Fusion area will focus on the use of high performance materials including a new finish to stainless steel that remains unscathed through the passage of time.

There will be a dedicated area for KitchenAid showing its latest designs and finishes, and there will be an area of colour where ovens, hobs and refrigerators will celebrate the glamour of colour.

kbb Birmingham is here and it's huge!

Guest blog by Sam Cande, sales director, UBM Live.

Friends, colleagues and business associates, this is the last week before kbb Birmingham and if I told you I was eager to get there, that would be an understatement!

I have been ready for two years, waiting for this very week to happen and I can’t believe in two weeks time I like the rest of you am going to have to wait another two years to see the show again.

Forget what you may or may not have heard. It’s here, it’s happening, it’s huge and there will be so many exciting new products to see this year at kbb Birmingham that you will certainly be able to fill a whole day up, especially with the amazing seminar programme on offer.

It wouldn’t be fair for me to say who I’m looking forward to seeing the most, but this year we have over 320 exhibitors and just over 100 of those are companies that have never exhibited at the show before.

I know everyone is busier than ever, I’ve been trying to work out myself why I have to work till 10 o’clock at night, but think of it this way: if you learn new things, see new products and catch up with colleagues, you will probably end up saving a few weeks off your working year.

So if you haven’t registered yet it's not too late; just go to the website www.kbb.co.uk and hopefully I’ll get to see some of you there.

Lets face it, two years is a long time to wait to see everyone again…

Snaidero set to stun in Milan

Two of the four new Snaidero kitchens on display at Eurocucina in April will be by Pininfarina.

Paolo Pininfarina - one of the keynote speakers in the Seminar Programme at kbb Birmingham on 22nd March - is believed to be revisiting two of his design classics for Snaidero: Ola, launched in 1991 and Idea, first launched in 2000.

We are also promised a new Snaidero kitchen from architect Iosa Ghini that will continue the brand's theme of employing materials with a low environmental impact. (That sounds like wood to me.)

A new kitchen called Code will also be on display prior to its official launch. This is said to convey "maximum versatility" and a "creative and flexible layout" that may make it suitable for open-plan installations.

However, it looks like the centre of the Snaidero action is going to take place at Fuorisalone, the new Snaidero showroom in the historic centre of Milan that will officially open on 15 April.

A substantial section of the new venue will be taken up with a display of Orange (seen above). Its versatile nature, formal lightness and finely crafted structural details, is a refined industrial design solution and Snaidero's answer to recent market changes.

Snaidero at Eurocucina in Hall 15, Stand A19 - B 15.

HMRC Business Support hits £5billion

HM Revenue & Customs' Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) has helped over 160,000 businesses reschedule more than £5billion of tax in its first 15 months, new figures reveal today, 3 March 2010.

The BPSS gives viable businesses, experiencing temporary difficulties paying their taxes, the opportunity to reschedule their tax payments to a more affordable timetable, as part of a 'time to pay' arrangement. These arrangements can cover PAYE, National Insurance, VAT or any other HMRC taxes.

In total, around 300,000 time to pay arrangements worth £5.13billion have been agreed by HMRC since the launch of BPSS in November 2008 - an average of more than 4,500 every week.

Businesses from a wide range of different industries have arranged time to pay agreements through the BPSS - everything from retail, tourism, transport and leisure to farming, manufacturing, construction and engineering.

Welcoming the figures, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms said: "It is excellent news that the Business Payment Support Service continues to provide much needed help to UK businesses, with over £5billion now rescheduled and over 160,000 businesses helped and a very high level of payment, in line with the agreements reached.

"The scheme will remain in place as long as necessary, as we want to continue to help businesses through the difficulties they are facing, because small businesses are the backbone of the British economy and have a vital part to play in our economic recovery."

The BPSS helpline can be contacted on 0845 302 1435 from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 4pm at weekends.

Major changes for VAT and PAYE

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched its first ever 'Super Podcast', to alert businesses to major changes in the way they file and pay VAT, PAYE and corporation tax.

The free, audio podcast highlights important VAT changes coming in on 1 April 2010, which mean VAT-registered traders with annual turnovers of £100,000 or more (excluding VAT) will have to file their VAT returns online and pay their VAT electronically, while all businesses registering for VAT from April will have to file their returns online and pay electronically.

The Super Podcast, featuring HMRC experts Stephen Banyard and Don Macarthur, also covers three other key areas: the need for all employers to file their Employer Annual Returns online from this spring; new penalties for late payment of PAYE being introduced in May; and key changes to corporation tax filing and payment coming in next year.

Stephen Banyard, Director of HMRC’s Business Customer Unit, said:

"Our Super Podcast is a great way for businesses to remind themselves about some of the major changes on the horizon affecting VAT, PAYE and corporation tax. So whether you’re a VAT-registered trader, employer or limited company, we’d urge you to take 15 minutes to download and listen to it, to help ensure you’re prepared for the changes."

The HMRC Super Podcast can be downloaded from HMRC’s podcast pages at www.hmrc.gov.uk/podcasts

When good enough is not enough

Is this the time to launch a high-end, high-spec, high-price range of appliances? V-ZUG of Switzerland must think so; it has just set up a UK company to do just that.

According to Brian Groom in the FT on 7th February, B&Q has benefited from middle-class customers spending £6,000 for an all-in kitchen with a marble worktop, rather than spending up to £15,000 at an independent vendor.

While Mr Groom's comments scream questions to me about what sort of quality of kitchen one gets from B&Q for an all-in price of six grand, complete with marble worktop, there is no doubt that Jo Public has become more cautious about their kitchen purchases.

And it is possible to get a kitchen with the look if not the longevity from a superstore at an apparent lower price than an independent retailer offers.

Of course, it pays to make sure that like is being compared with like in these arguments, as even with marble worktops the range of qualities available is considerable.

There is always a place for the less expensive version of a product. If there weren't we'd all be driving around in a Mercedes. But Mercedes still sell cars in respectable numbers to those who want to buy a quality vehicle and are prepared to pay a realistic price for one.

This is obviously where V-ZUG wants to fit in. With ambitions to set up a 30-strong showroom network in the UK, it is clearly going for quality rather than quantity. And to answer my original question, its timing could be perfect.

The middle market dominated by independent showrooms is in a bit of a fix at the moment, as the improving quality of entry-level kitchens makes it more difficult to justify the price-point it has traditionally charged.

Lower quality kitchens may be good enough for a lot of people, but when good enough is not enough, the only way is up.

The air may be thinner up at the top of the mountain, but with its Swiss heritage, V-ZUG could feel right at home up there.

V-ZUG is one of 300-plus exhibitors at kbb Birmingham 2010 taking place on 21-24 March at the NEC in Birmingham.