Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show where we dive into the realities of independent kitchen and bathroom retail.

This week, host Andy Davies is joined by our panel of industry retailers to tackle...rebates.

• Are they a welcome bonus at the end of the year, or a core part of your commercial strategy?
• Do they genuinely influence what you sell - and even what your customers buy - or are they a flawed system that benefits suppliers more than you?
• Are they an actual incentive?
• Do some suppliers set unachievable targets which actually act as a disincentive?

From negotiating terms and hitting targets to the risks of chasing rebates at the expense of customer serive, the panel shares honest insights, real experiences and a few hard truths. Featuring Nick Warrington, Liz Pantling-Jones, Steph Warner and Trevor Scott (dialling in from his motorhome somewhere in Scotland) this is a candid, practical look at how rebates really work on the shop floor, and whether they’re fit for purpose in today’s market.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show totally dedicated to the world of independent kitchen and bathroom retail.

Your host as always is kbbreview editor Andrew Davies and we're back with a brand new season.

In this episode we're catching up on business so far in 2026 with our regular team of retailers - we're over halfway through April so how has the year been so far, where have the pinch points been, what are the positives, how are consumers behaving, is it all Donaldl Trump's fault, how are retailers adapting and how confident do they actually feel about the rest of the year?

Waiting in the wings is our retailers Nick Warrington, Liz Pantling-Jones and Trevor Scott. BUT we also have a new recruit, very sadly Justine has had to leave the band as a regular member *although we will get her back for occasional guest appearances), so we have a new bathroom retailer - Steph Warner from Pier 1 Bathrooms in Hove.

So if you want a snapshot of where independent kitchen and bathroom retail is right now, this is the episode for you.

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In the final episode of Season 17 of The kbbreview Podcast, we've got an exclusive interview with one of the biggest names in kitchen retail - Magnet.

Founded in 1918 in Bingley, Yorkshire, by Tom Duxbury, and famously named after his horse, Magnet has become one of the most recognisable brands in the UK kitchen market. But recent years have been anything but straightforward.

Following a prolonged period of declining performance and an unwieldy estate of underperforming stores, the business has been deep in turnaround mode.

However, it does have that enviable brand equity and the turnaround does seem to have been working under former head George Dymond.

When Dymond stepped down last October, former commercial & customer director Sophie Rose took the reins of Magnet just as parent company Nobia agreed a sale to Alteri Partners.

The deal returned Magnet to British ownership and, as Rose explains in this episode, puts the business firmly back in control of its own destiny.

So kbbreview's George Dean met up with Sophie Rose and it's a really interesting insight into plans, outlook, the old chestnut of the never-ending sale and what role Magnet could and should be playing in the wider kitchen retail industry.

It’s a fascinating, timely discussion and a fitting finale to the season.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.