The K&BZINE News @ B2BZine.net

Please click on 'THE K&BZINE' links to view the whole issue, or on 'more on this story' just to see that particular story:

Topps Tiles Announces Preliminary Results for the 16 months ended 27 September 2003
Commenting on the results, Nick Ounstead, Chief Executive said: 'We are delighted to report another excellent period of trading for Topps with record profits and increased market share. Our strategy remains simple; to provide excellent value, choice and service to our customers. We are confident that the fundamental strengths of our brand and the proven retail concept will enable us to continue delivering profitable growth for the benefit of our shareholders in the future.'
[More on this Story]

Travis Perkins acquires B&G (Plumbing & Heating) for £23.5m
Travis Perkins has acquired the entire issued capital of B&G (Plumbing & Heating) Ltd ("B&G"). Consideration for the purchase is £23.5m, payable in cash from existing resources, based on enterprise value subject to final agreement of the net asset value at completion.
B&G has a network of 12 branches mainly in South London and Surrey selling plumbing and heating products. For the year ended 31 August 2003, it achieved a turnover of £38.3m and underlying operating profits of £2.1m..
[More on this Story]

New Public Sector Product Launch
Moores have launched a number of new kitchen ranges and accessories into their Public Sector product offering:-
Calypso Coral is a speckled white MFC thick lipped door. This range complements the rest of the Calypso range. A contemporary door with a choice of eight handle options..
[More on this Story]

Spinning a Great Story with Fagor …
Fagor says that its new Innova range of electronic appliances incorporates a host of advanced features designed to make their operation as easy and pleasurable as possible. Take the new ABS (Advanced Balance System) spin system. Before the spin cycle, the clothes are often badly distributed inside the drum. This is the reason why washing machines not equipped with ABS produce more noise and excessive vibration during spinning.
[More on this Story]

Sanitec Interim Financial Report January - September 2003
Third quarter 2003 net sales of EUR 226.7 million were down against the same quarter in 2002 by EUR 10.2 million or 4.3% in total. Excluding currency exchange rate effects, 1.9% less sales were recognised.
[More on this Story]

Hotpoint Offers Christmas Savings
Hotpoint is offering retailers a number of special deals this Christmas, promoting a selection of Hotpoint Built-in products. Offers include special prices on selected Hotpoint built-in double oven packs, saving over £90.00 when retailers order one of four featured double oven packs from their distributor.
[More on this Story]

John Sydney Specified for QE II Conference Centre Refurbishment Project
London’s premier conference venue, The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, is currently undergoing major refurbishment. Navarre Interiors is one of the contractors for the projects, working with MJS Architects. The purpose built venue combines modern comfort with the very latest in technology. As part of the refurbishment scheme, John Sydney, the Staffordshire based, contemporary bathroom fittings company, has been specified to supply brassware for the toilets around the building.
[More on this Story]

Wolseley AGM Statement shows 'Good Progress' in UK
Wolseley plc, the specialist trade distributor of plumbing, heating and building material products, held its Annual General Meeting on 21st November. At the meeting, John Whybrow, Chairman, made the following comments to Shareholders:
[More on this Story]

Creda Launches New Freestanding Cooker Portfolio
Creda has launched a new freestanding cooker range. lncorporating all Creda's expertise and experience in the kitchen, combined with new up-to-the-minute styling, the company says that this new range of electric and gas cookers offers retailers a real sales edge.
[More on this Story]

Wave - A 21st Century Revolution
'A great leap forward has been made in the world of tile design and technology, with a revolutionary new surface material, exclusively discovered for the discerning UK market by The Stone & Ceramic Warehouse.' says the company.
[More on this Story]

American Standard Announces Departure of Global Bath and Kitchen President
American Standard Companies Inc. has announced that Marc Olivié, president of Global Bath and Kitchen, will leave the company during the first quarter of next year to pursue other interests. The company plans to name a new leader prior to his departure, and Olivié will continue to lead the business until his successor is in place.
[More on this Story]

Maytag Highlights 2004 Growth Strategies at Analysts' Conference
Maytag Corporation has unveiled plans to change its segment reporting beginning in the first quarter 2004, from two segments to three as the company aligns its internal reporting to reflect new initiatives and accountabilities within the company. In addition, the new segment reporting structure should provide investors with enhanced clarity and consistent financial information.
[More on this Story]

Free Hamper Offer from Intoto
This year kitchen buyers will be cheered by a free Christmas hamper worth over £200 when they order from In-toto before Christmas. It may be too late to have your kitchen fitted in time for the big day, but order now and enjoy a quality hamper full of seasonal goodies.
[More on this Story]

Glass Processing & Technology Shows Glass Industry Aiming at KBB Market
EMAP's Glass Processing & Technology show - held last week at the NEC, Birmingham - held a number of pleasant surprises for any visitors with an interest in kitchen or bathroom design. Ritec has launched a new generaton of its ClearShield Low-M (low maintenance) glass, which a number of shower manufacturers (including Aquati) are offering as a standard add-on. DR Services offered a number of glazing solutions for the shower manufacturer, while also showing a new application for 'switchable' glass. RegaLead, meanwhile, introduced its fused glass panels, which the company reckons is a must for the kitchen cabinet market.
[More on this Story]

ALNO (UK) Integrates Wellmann Operation
From 1st January 2004 the UK subsidiaries of Wellmann and ALNO will trade as ALNO (UK) Ltd, selling four kitchen brands, ALNO, Wellmann, Geba and Impuls. This follows the acquisition of the Wellmann Group by ALNO AG in July 2003.
[More on this Story]

John Sydney Announces 26% Sales Growth
John Sydney has just announced a record 12 months for sales with over 26% growth achieved year on year. The launch of its new JS2 design has significantly boosted sales, whilst Elite, part of its original Collection, continues to be its top seller. Judith Gibbons, Marketing Manager comments: ‘It is brilliant to see John Sydney has become an established and recommended brand, at the top end of the bathroom fittings market, in just three years and we have equally high expectations for the future’.
[More on this Story]

Highley Fitted Kitchens go for Glass with Hotpoint Built-In
Highley Fitted Kitchens in Normanton, West Yorks, has installed Hotpoint's new Diamond Line built-in cooking appliances into its showroom Creating a 'Glass' kitchen to demonstrate to consumers Highley's versatility in kitchen design.
[More on this Story]

Orama Signs-Up First Distributor for Ardesco Range
Orama, the independent manufacturer of worksurfaces and associated decorative products, announces that it has concluded a distribution agreement for its new Ardesco range of worksurfaces with Hopkinsons Fourways, part of the PJH group of companies, the distributor of bathrooms, kitchens and appliances in the UK.'
[More on this Story]

How To Get More Bathroom For Your Buck
Developers, designers, builders and architects with a desire to add a luxurious touch to their new development for less are being urged to visit Leicester bathroom specialists Norman and Underwood. The company is offering the opportunity to view the latest Villeroy and Boch bathroom designs at its new look showroom from 1 October 2003 having added to its already extensive Villeroy & Boch displays the new designer ranges Subway and Aveo.
[More on this Story]

MHS Radiators Chosen for City Hot Spot
An impressive new development by George Wimpey, The Ropeworks is located in the vibrant design quarter of Manchester’s city centre. Designed to the highest specification, all of the development’s 300 luxury apartments offer innovative features to attract the most discerning of property seekers. Amongst the companies specified for the project, MHS Radiators were to supply designer radiators and towel rails.
[More on this Story]

New Van Fleet for Glen Dimplex Cooking
Cooker manufacturer and owner of the Stoves, Belling and New World brands, Glen Dimplex Cooking has completely overhauled its engineer van fleet. As part of its ongoing drive to offer a completely integrated field service operation across the three brands, Glen Dimplex Cooking has turned to Nissan to provide over 100 new vans. A further 50 vehicles are to be added in the New Year. The Primastar is one of the latest additions to Nissan’s commercial fleet and was chosen because of its high specification and load carrying capacity.
[More on this Story]

Maytag & Friends Jet Off to Chicago
Maytag UK's 'Coming to America 2' promotion flew a group of successful retailers to the cities of North America for five days at the beginning of October. The successful retailers qualified for the trip by attaining their display and purchasing achievements, based on selected Amana, Maytag and Admiral appliances for the year.
[More on this Story]

New Colours from Solutia Vanceva™ Design Interlayers are Changing the Image of Laminated Glass
Vanceva™ Design - the range of coloured and decorative high performance interlayers from Solutia - now introduces its latest innovations: four new fashion led colours: deep red, true blue, pure and cool white. Vanceva™ Design is designed to meet the requirements of people working with glass in the building industry, architecture and design, who seek superior levels of technical performance and creativity. Always keen to keep apace with customer demands, Vanceva™ Design was quick to respond to the growing trend for a more intense colour range.
[More on this Story]

New Plymouth Showroom for In-toto
Fitted kitchen franchise, In-toto has opened its latest outlet within prominent premises in Plymouth. The large showroom is at 65/67 Exeter Street, Plymouth and has been equipped with ten complete kitchen displays.
[More on this Story]

In-toto - Looking for Franchisees
In-toto, the fitted kitchen franchise is looking for individuals within the home improvement industry who are prepared to become franchisees. Having opened five new showrooms this year In-toto now has forty outlets.
[More on this Story]

Concealed Commercial Bathrooms – Engineering a Solution
When concealed bathrooms requiring wall-hung sanitaryware supports were specified for installation into the new 1 million square feet commercial office building HQ2, Midlands based Thomas Dudley Ltd provided a tailor made solution. Working closely with AMEC plc, trade contractors for Canary Wharf, Thomas Dudley designed, engineered and delivered in-wall frame systems for installation with over 420 wall-hung WC pans.
[More on this Story]

Domestic Floorcoverings: UK 2003 – Latest Report from MSI
Unsure of the state of the Domestic Floorcoverings market in the UK? Need the latest information to assist you with your planning? If so, read on and uncover the future of the market with this latest report from MSI Marketing Research For Industry.
[More on this Story]

Hopkinsons Launches Own Label Appliance Range
Hopkinsons Fourways has developed and extended its own Prima brand by launching a comprehensive range of kitchen appliances, following in the success of its Prima kitchen and bathroom collections. The new Prima appliance range, now available in a 16 page catalogue, includes cooking, cooling and laundry products and perfectly complements Hopkinsons Fourways’ already wide-ranging appliance collection comprising of leading manufacturers’ brands, such as Whirlpool, Zanussi and Bosch.
[More on this Story]

Maytag UK's Extra lncentive for Great Christmas Sales
Maytag UK is investing in several promotions for the fourth quarter trading period for both the consumer and the retailer and has added an extra boost for the last two months' of the year. Maytag UK has added a greater retailer incentive to its Admiral brand for November and December. The Admiral 60ADi (black or white) will attract a £40 spiv for the retailer. Not forgetting that this is supported with a consumer £100 cashback promotion on purchases before 31st December 2003.
[More on this Story]

Showerlux Moves into new Head Office Facility
In response to considerable sales growth and the continued expansion of the Showerlux product portfolio, the company has moved into a new 200,000 sq ft Head Office facility, centralising sales, manufacturing and warehousing operations. The move comes as Showerlux celebrates its 30th anniversary.
[More on this Story]

Airbath Group plc - Pre-Tax Profits 30% Less than Expected
Airbath Group plc, designer and manufacturer of baths and bathwares, announces preliminary results for year ended 31st March 2003. Commenting, Clive Gilham, Executive Chairman, said: 'The Group has undergone considerable change since our flotation in August 2001 and has overcome many short term problems during that time. Unfortunately, order intake and trading volumes in the period since the year end have been disappointing and the interim results will, therefore, be well below those achieved last year. Nevertheless, we believe that there are many opportunities for growth, especially for our Airbath and Appollo product ranges, and we remain committed to the further development of the Group.'
[More on this Story]

Whirlpool to Strengthen Global Manufacturing Position in North America
Whirlpool Corporation recently announced a series of initiatives to strengthen the company's global operating platform in North America and extend its leadership position in the U.S. appliance industry. The initiatives are part of a comprehensive worldwide effort to optimise the company's regional manufacturing facilities, supply base, product platforms and technology resources to better support its global brands and customers.
[More on this Story]

Fortune Brands Acquires Therma-Tru Door
Fortune Brands Inc.’s Home and Hardware business has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Therma-Tru Corp., the manufacturer of residential entry doors based in Maumee, OH in a transaction valued at approximately $925m. A diversified company with annual sales of $6bn, Fortune Brands include Moen, said to be the market leader in faucets, and MasterBrand cabinets, said to be the number two brand in kitchens and baths.
[More on this Story]

KBSA Member Wins Top Design Award
A member of the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association has won one of The Kitchen Bathroom Designer magazine’s new Design Awards. Amanda Dunlop of Stuart Frazer earned the prestigious title of New Designer of the Year – kitchens category.
[More on this Story]

The Corner Fridge Company Update
'The Corner Fridge Company is home not only to the ultimate version of the legendary Corner Fridge, but also to some of the most innovative refrigeration and wine storage products available today.' says Irwen Martin from The Corner Fridge Company.
[More on this Story]

In-toto Expands in Finchley
In-toto is moving across the street from 869 High Road to 950 High Road in Finchley, creating a much larger showroom with many more new kitchen displays. Work is expected to be completed by early 2004.
[More on this Story]

The Raywall® from Glaverbel - a Scintillating Geometrical Design Showcased in Batimat
Glaverbel recently introduced Raywall®, a new patterned glass with a prismatic surface available in two versions: Raywall® 45 and Raywall® 90. In addition to its fashionable structured graphics, Raywall® has light reflection properties suitable for interior arrangements or scintillating frontages.
[More on this Story]

Abacon Shows Extreme Flexibility with Löwer MultiMaster
Multi-sided sanding and finishing for complex mouldings and linear profiles can be achieved in a single pass with the new Löwer MultiMaster from abrasive specialist Abacon. This is a highly flexible throughfeed sanding machine series incorporating 5 models in working width from 150mm to 300mm.
[More on this Story]

American Standard Survey Reveals how Americans Save Money on Energy Bills
Do you know what household activities lower your energy bills the most? A recent poll commissioned by American Standard, a company that focuses on bath and kitchen products, central heating and cooling systems and vehicle control systems, shows that respondents chose upgrading insulation as the number one way to save money when it's cold outside.
[More on this Story]

Jacuzzi UK play Harrogate Town AFC
Jacuzzi UK, the main sponsor for Harrogate Town this season, put together a staff team to play at the Wetherby Road ground last Tuesday evening. The squad, including staff from the company’s Bradford and Hilton sites, initially played an inter-departmental match followed by a game against a specially selected Harrogate Town 11, including many players from its first team.
[More on this Story]

Interview with Wolseley Group Finance Director Steve Webster
In an interview with Steve Webster, Group Finance Director of Wolseley about the company's recently announced preliminary results and dividend policy, Steve highlights the impact of dollar translation problems but is happy that the group has out-performed the market.
[More on this Story]

Masco Reports Record Third Quarter Sales and Earnings, Despite UK Plumbing Division Misreporting to Tune of $7m
Masco Corporation reported on 4th November that net sales for the third quarter ended September 30th, 2003, aided by acquisitions, increased 19 percent to a record $2.9bn, compared with $2.4bn for the third quarter of 2002. The Company also detected that an employee at a United Kingdom business unit in the Plumbing Products segment had circumvented internal controls and overstated operating results by approximately $7m.
[More on this Story]

Kitchen Showcase & Masterclass Announces Dates for 2004
Kitchen Showcase & Masterclass 2004 will take place from 1-3 July 2004 at the Commonwealth Institute on Kensington High St, and the organisers plan to double the size of the original event to create the most important kitchen exhibition ever held in the UK.
[More on this Story]

H. E. Olby Announces the Opening of its New Bathroom Showroom – Deep Blue
Established builders merchant H. E. Olby has added a new dimension to its premises in Lewisham, South London. Recognised throughout London as the place for sourcing unusual building materials and fittings, the company has shifted its focus more towards the consumer and specifier/interior designer by opening a 2000sq ft bathroom showroom packed with products from leading bathroom suppliers.
[More on this Story]

PWS Reaches Sales Milestone
Kitchen components distributor, PWS Distributors, has recently sold its 5th millionth door based on sales since records began in the early 1980's. The door was purchased by Sigma 3 Kitchens Ltd of Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan - a long established customer of PWS' which has been buying furniture components from the company since 1976.
[More on this Story]

Maytag UK Teams up with Waitrose at The BBC Good Food Show
Maytag UK has teamed up with premier food retailer, Waitrose for the forthcoming BBC Good Food Show at the NEC, Birmingham from the 26th to 30th November 2003. Maytag UK is furnishing the Waitrose demonstration kitchen with the Maytag genuine American fridge freezer, the SOV60CZ, and the latest addition to its appliance portfolio, the Maytag SOV11ORC range cooker.
[More on this Story]

Salisbury Woman wins AEG Ladies Golf Torunament
The AEG sponsored British Ladies Golf Tournament 2003 came to a scorching close this month as Wendy Shaw from Salisbury won the coveted title during the finals in Sun City, South Africa.
[More on this Story]

Bristan’s Appeal and Target Cited as ‘Top Kitchen Taps’ by Telegraph Magazine
Two Bristan kitchen taps have been selected from the entire kitchen marketplace to appear in a feature in the Saturday Telegraph Magazine called ‘Take your pick - top kitchen taps’, reaching over 3.5 million readers.
[More on this Story]

The Elegant Grace of Showering
'The bathroom as we know it today is about to be turned on its head! The British consumer is no longer prepared to accept the plain, boring and un-inspiring bathrooms of yester year.' says the Bathroom Manufacturers Association.
[More on this Story]

DIY SOS? Vantage to the Rescue
The Dudley Vantage concealed cistern was recently used in an episode of the popular BBC TV show, ‘DIY SOS’. When a domestic bathroom was refurbished, the Vantage helped provide a simple to install and aesthetically pleasing solution. The episode was screened on 31st July 2003, with the transformation taking place in just one day.
[More on this Story]

German Consumer Watchdog Stiftung Warentest puts Miele at the Top
In the latest tumble dryer test by Stiftung Warentest (StiWa), which will be published in the November issue of its magazine, Miele’s T 273 C condenser dryer and T 263 vented dryer both came in first within their respective category. A total of twelve appliances were tested including nine condenser dryers.
[More on this Story]

295 Licensing Actions by OFT Between July and September
The OFT carried out 295 licensing actions in the third quarter of 2003, including Kenneth Ellis, Kitchen, bathroom and bedroom suppler. Between 1st July and 30th September nine consumer credit licence applications were refused and five existing licences revoked.
[More on this Story]

Autumn House Cleaning: Essential for a Wholesome Environment
While you and your family enjoyed Mother Nature at her best this past summer, a lot of the outside was being tracked inside on shoes and pet paws or wafted through the window screen. Pesticides, road dust with motor oil, ragweed and grass pollens may have entered the home. Microscopic allergens known as dust mites were burrowing into bedding, upholstery and carpeting. And normal house dust was accumulating particles of bacteria, fungi and airborne mold spores.
[More on this Story]