Impulse Bathrooms has been supplying the UK market since 1995, with customers predominantly comprised of smaller independent distributors and the bathroom retail sector. Holding three months’ stocks, spare parts and offering technical back—up, a 22,000sq ft distribution warehouse in Birmingham ensures that the company is at the heart of the UK’s logistics infrastructure to support its growing customer base whilst its products are designed, manufactured and checked to stringent quality standards in a modern, purpose—built factory. When current expansion plans are completed early this year, it will be capable of producing 1.6 million pieces per year.
This facility, however, is located in Zhongshan, south eastern China and Impulse acknowledges that has been engaged in a continual battle to change some of the negative perceptions that persist with regard to Far Eastern imports. Yet Impulse insists that its operation is more a case of a ‘British factory that just happens to be in a different country’—for example, most of the production machinery came from Southampton, and the equipment was designed and installed to specifications exactly as would be found in the UK.
Even more significantly, the business is managed by a team of eight‘expats’all with a strong backaround in the bathrooms industry and headed up by Mik keegan (for—merly with American Standard). It is their drive and experience that ensures that the factory effectively works to ‘western’ manufacturing principles, with an emphasis on maintaining control on quality and standards.
Big impact
The company is a brand of the Imperial Bathroom Products Group (the Impulse name was chosen simply to avoid and confusion with the existing Imperial Bathrooms in the UK), itself a wholly—owned subsidiary of HKR International plc-a major conglomerate listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Reinforced by such financial power, significant levels of investment in the business are designed to act as the springboard to allow it to make a bigger impact into the UK trade market—with that commitment to quality the strong message the firm wants to send out.
The factory boasts full testing facilities, audited to CICS UK standards, and Imperial exports to more than 22 countries—the UK marked under the Impulse brand represents approximately on third of the overall production. General Manager Gary Hawkins conceded: “We believe we were the first company selling Chinese sanitaryware into the UK and at first it was very difficult to break into the market—put simply, no-one wanted ‘cheap china from China’.”
“Yet Impulse is not a ‘cheap’ manufacturer, and we position ourselves in the mid-to upper segment of the market. Competitive costs in China allow us to give our customers both value and high quality, and we have real confidence in what we do—as demonstrated by a ten year guarantee on our ceramicware. We provide a full range of vitreous products and bathroom accessories including both contemporary and traditional style suites, acrylic baths, healthcare products such as grab rails, and even a commercial line up that includes cleaner sinks and urinals,” continued Gary.
He explained: “We believe that we aren’t followers but leaders in innovation and design, constantly refreshing our range and bringing out new suites. Our products carry accreditation labels from the Water Regulatory Advisory Scheme whilst some of our new 4.5/3-litre models are included on the DEFRA list of approved water saving devices. They also comply with the more stringent water savings standards in Australia set by WELS under the EVO water savings rating scheme.”
Gary asserted that the “current UK market often only seems to ask ‘How cheap…？’”and consequently the real message seems to be one of ‘buyer beware’ should companies chose to import product from any of the less reputable suppliers in the Far East. Compounding this—ironically enough given Impulse’s stance— it is a lack of tangible mandatory standards in the UK and Europe that have compromised the quality issue, allowing cheap and often sub-standard product to flood the market.
Operations Manager Greg Warren commented: “We wouldn’t be worried if there were tighter standards because we know we’d comply. We would openly welcome UK legislation on quality and standards compliance—that’s why we have already invested in IAPMO, Australian standards and ISO accreditation and have the expertise and capability to test to all international standards. We are regularly externally audited and so we really do feel that we already comply with the ‘best of the best’.”
Regarding the ambitions to make further in-roads to the UK market, Gary explained: “We have a desire to be partners with our customers and not just their suppliers. By becoming an established brand, we will be here for the long term and merchants are now a particular target—we’ve got the capacity to serve that market without affecting our existing customers and we’d like to engage with merchants as we feel they would welcome our offer. Not only do we have the ‘fashion’ products, but we also provide the commercial ranges that merchants need.”
The company will once again be exhibiting at KBB this year and it has increased its commitment to customer support and marketing, whilst plans are also in place to further expand its UK storage capacity and provide a full showroom presence at its distribution facility.
