Managing director of Pier1 Bathrooms Angus Warner explains how his newly established business is not just about selling bathrooms but enhancing lifestyles and the local community.

Having worked in bathroom retail with his brother, before embarking on a career in major engineering, Angus Warner has returned to the industry with a newly-established showroom Pier1 Bathrooms in Hove, East Sussex.

Having worked around the world and the UK, but with a second home in Brighton used for the weekends, he decided the lifestyle offered by the seaside-based city was more conducive to family life.

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“Brighton is amazing and we wanted to make a life here”, says Angus, adding: “I stopped thinking about work as the priority and started thinking more about life. We love being by the sea and thought we have already have a place down here, so why not?”

Managing director Angus Warner has created Pier1 Bathrooms to change and improve his family life

Angus looked around at bathroom showrooms in the area, and says: “There was nothing that really captured the imagination and certainly not the kind of style you get in London.

Brighton & Hove is the same population size of Wandsworth and the housing stock is not too different. But Wandsworth has West One Bathrooms, CP Hart and a bunch of high-end shops, and here there is not that many.”

So Angus made it his mission to create a retail business which provides bathrooms with a luxury appeal: “We can sell super high-end bathrooms, here, with a great design and we can do more basic-priced bathrooms.

“We do bathroom packages from £2,500. That doesn’t include tiles. But we also have bathroom displays worth £10,000 and £17,500.

“The showroom is designed to get the creative juices flowing – but we can do bathrooms at £5,000, £6,000 and £7,000 that have a zing to them.”

Surrounded by a café society culture, trendy restaurants and lifestyle showrooms, Angus Warner believes Pier1 Bathrooms can help to create a Design Quarter

Seamless service focus

Backed up by his experience of managing engineering projects, the company focuses on customer service to deliver seamless design and fit experiences. “I think we have a good opportunity, here, to build a company that is able to support customers all the way through, so there are no nasty surprises”, says Angus.

He explains: “One of the key parts of that is working closely with the fitters because they are the ones who do the site visit and get a sniff of the situation.

“You can raise any issues to the customer in advance and end up with a nice and easy high-end bathroom.”

He also believes a strong focus on service counteracts the need for discounting to attract customers.

“If you want to get 50% off, go on the internet. If you want a great service with good products tell us your budget and we’ll make you an awesome bathroom.

“Personally I’m over the ‘50% off’ sales thing and what I want is value and service. I think there are a lot of people who recognise that now.”

The front of the showroom is colourful and quirky with concrete Cast basins and showcasing the trend for the industrial trend with an Art Deco appeal

Creating design quarter

With the showroom created by the design team, because Angus would rather “people take ownership of the place they are going to work”, Pier1 Bathrooms is stylish without being achingly cool.

Angus adds: “I think we haven’t made it so super bling that people feel alienated.”

And he has ended up with a showroom that is “better than I envisaged with a great atmosphere and hopefully it gets over to customers a) they can understand how cool their bathroom can be but b) can see it’s designed to their budget and taste.”

Situated on a high street surrounded by lifestyle showrooms, trendy restaurants and coffee shops, Angus chose the dual aspect showroom after being advised by his brother to seek a location with car parking.

“We negotiated on the property and it’s not easy when it’s your first shop. The agents wanted a known brand to take the shop and we’re an untried business.

“It took around 7-8 months to sign the contract and to get where we are”, says Angus.

But he believes the area could be promoted as a design quarter of Brighton & Hove.

“If you want to refurbish your house this area includes every aspect from Bang & Olufson to kitchen and bathroom shops.

“People will travel an hour to get to this area. So I do think there’s an opportunity to promote it as a design quarter.

“Now whether the council are interested in that happening – I think that will take a while. But could local businesses collectively advertise to bring people from further afield? I think there’s no reason why not.”

Betting lifestyles

And his bold vision includes not only expanding his business to have multiple showrooms but also to enhance his lifestyle and those of the local community.

“I’m not doing this just for one shop; I would like to see us with 6-10 shops in the longer-term. But I’m doing this a) because I want to spend more time with the children and b) I would like to see a decent place for people to work in, where people get looked after but understand the value of their work.

“I think about how I want to be treated in the workplace.”

He adds: “I love being in Brighton and I want to be part of the local community and an important part of that is looking after employees.”

He even points to a long-term vision of operating the business on a four-day week model.  “I have no doubt we will be able to get there at some point.

“I would absolutely love it if we could do a four-day week for people, not pay impacted. How cool would that be?

“As corny as it sounds, I want to change people’s lives for the better.”

He continues: “It’s 2020; it isn’t about slaving in the workplace, it’s about doing a good job and creating value for the customer.”

Emotional pay back

Having invested “the kind of money you gulp at”, Angus believes the business will take a couple of years to become established but says “emotionally speaking, with the business now up and running, I have already been paid back”.

He admits “If you spoke to me two or three months’ ago when we first opened, I would have said ‘I think we have just lost a load of money’, but people are coming through the doors. It’s not super stellar – yet – but we’re doing okay.”

And his first priority is to ensure he stays in business as he emphasises the bottom line is that Pier1 Bathrooms “is going to change my family’s life for the better and I hope we can make the same change for the people who work here and the local area. Because why else are we doing stuff?”

He concludes: “It’s not just a shop selling bathroom; it’s about serving the customer and the staff.”