Combining their expertise of buying and marketing in national KBB retail and ecommerce, Umesh Bhudia and Mitz Vaghji have now opened the boutique showroom Bathe Indigo, in Pinner, Middlesex

Pictured left to right: Mitz Vaghji and Umesh Bhudia

There is no one right route to success when opening an independent bathroom showroom. And it is just as well, considering business partners Umesh Bhudia and Mitz Vaghji have been on quite some journey.

Having started out working for a national home improvement retailer, before creating their own ecommerce bathroom business, they have now opened a boutique showroom – Bathe Indigo –  catering for the mid to high-end of the market in Pinner, Middlesex.

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And they have bold business objectives. “Once we have established ourselves, then our ambition is to build a brand and have multiple showrooms”, explains Umesh.

Instore to online

Originally colleagues at Wickes, Umesh and Mitz worked their way up from the shop floor before reaching head office positions in marketing and buying, respectively.

Bathe Indigo is positioned on a short parade in Pinner, Middlesex

Noticing a propensity towards kitchen sales in the DIY business, which offered bigger ticket sales and greater commission for design consultants, they believed there was an opportunity to explore bathroom sales.

It saw them enter the world of ecommerce, with the launch of their own website – byubathrooms.co.uk – with “high volume, low value” bathroom sales.

Working during the evenings to create the website, over two years, Mitz focused on the site full-time following furlough from his then employer Homebase.

“We launched in 2020 and in the first week we sold a bathroom, which was just phenomenal”, Mitz enthuses.

“We started getting regular orders and fast forward a few years’ on, the site is still operating”, says Umesh.

However, they recognised the next step in growth, not only to provide warehouse storage but to work with more brands, would be a bricks and mortar showroom.

Opening own showroom

“We’d got to the stage where we couldn’t work with certain brands and I think that’s when our mind was set on a showroom.

Bathe Indigo has been positioned to appeal at the mid to high-end of the market

Initially we considered warehouse space, which we could use as storage and a showroom”, says Umesh.

However, having spoken to acquaintances who owned retail shops, they both decided against an industrial estate location in favour of a high street, with its associated levels of footfall.

They found the 3,000sqft, double-fronted premises of a former restaurant, on a parade with an electrical wholesaler, kitchen studio and opposite Tesco.

Having taken possessions of the keys, they started a six-month process of converting it into a bathroom showroom.

At the time, it was proposed to be an extension of byubathrooms.co.uk, but halfway through they realised the “high volume, low value” bathroom concept wouldn’t work in the locality.

Umesh expands: “While we were fitting out the showroom, we had three face-to-face customers that all wanted four bathrooms and not at low value.

“We also talked to suppliers who showed us what we could have in the showroom. So we changed our strategy and chose to work with partners to create a mid to high-end studio, offering design and supply services. It was a no-brainer to have two separate businesses.”

But the change of strategy left them with a headache, what should they now call the showroom?

Creating concept

Umesh explains the concept behind Bathe Indigo: “The definition of Bathe is to immerse in water.

Inspired by premium bathroom retailers, Bathe Indigo is planning to create its own brand

“We chose the word ‘Indigo’ because one of our best-selling products online was an Indigo blue vanity with brass handles. And that’s also why we have gold lettering in our logo.

“There is a sentimentality there, that those vanity sales helped us to get to the position we are now.

“Indigo has also got multiple connotations but it is linked with compassion and creativity, which reflects how we work with our clients.”

Mitz stated it was also important the brand matched the soft design of the retail space.

Although they admit the boutique feel is inspired by the likes of C.P Hart, Ripples and West One Bathrooms, Umesh is emphatic when he states: “We don’t want to be West One, we want to be Bathe Indigo.”

Featuring 20 display bays, each created following their own mood board designs, the showroom has been designed to appeal to female customers as Mitz explains they often make the final decisions.

And the pair have carefully selected suppliers, which include Catalano, Flair, MyLife Bathrooms and Armera to create the look.

Mitz explains: “The strategy was about choosing partners not just suppliers. We needed to make sure they would back us as we grow. We all want to achieve the same goal, which is success. Supporting our customers is an absolute priority.”

Booming business

And how is business? It could be an unfair question as the showroom had only been opened four weeks at the time of the interview.

Window display with eye-catching wall cladding to attract passers by

However, Umesh replies: “Obviously, it has been a lot of hard work. But, since we’ve been open, we’ve had a good amount of customers come in and we are building up a good pipeline. Within just four weeks we’ve taken multiple orders, with multiple bathrooms.”

Mitz adds: “On average, customers are spending £5,000-£7,000 per bathroom.”

Bathe Indigo has already exceeded their expectations, which is particularly impressive as the company hasn’t held an official launch and is yet to start lead generation.

It has a Meta campaign planned for a 3-mile radius of the showroom, as Mitz points out the immediate postcode (HA52) has 18,000 homes.

But Umesh explains that doesn’t mean it hasn’t started marketing, using social media: “We’ve been building brand awareness and now we have professional photography and a video for use on social media.

“We don’t want to be a social account with 300 followers, we want to get to try and get to 10,000-20,000 followers. I’m boosting a few posts and Mitz has recently quoted an order for £15,000, which came through our social media.”

However, the process of opening their own showroom has not been without its challenges, and they both highlight not being able to take a wage, while setting up the Bathe Indigo showroom, as being difficult.

“The thing about businesses is you have to make sacrifices to try and make it work and not many people will tell you that”, Mitz says openly.

It was further exacerbated by not realising how long it takes to open a showroom.

“We thought it would take two months to open the showroom, but when we got the keys we realised it would take longer”, Umesh explains.

He adds: “We could have rushed and opened with byubathrooms.co.uk sign, selling low margin product. We could have rushed and not got this look. I’m just glad we’re open now.”

Future vision

And the pair are “hugely” ambitious, with plans to build the Bathe Indigo brand and have multiple showrooms around the UK.

Design area to create mood boards and to showcase a selection of tiles

Mitz states: “As it stands, over the next couple of years, we will try and get to five showrooms.

“Now that may seem ambitious on the back of not knowing how the Pinner showroom is going to deliver, but the early signs are there’s quite a healthy pipeline.

“We will be aiming to open 3,000 to 4,000sqft units, with our next showroom located up North.

“The reason for that is we also want to build a network to create additional hubs to stock Byubathroom products as well.”

With a growing online operation and separate showroom business, certainly there’s room for growth, as Mitz concludes: “Our ambition is always to aim high.”