Bristan positions itself for commercial expansion
Bristan Group is merging the Bristan and Sirrus by Gummers brands to position itself to expand its business in the commercial sector and develop a specification market. The Bristan brand has a 36% share in the trade sector for taps and mixers, but Gummers has only about a 6% market share. The move will see a growing emphasis on taps, showers and control devices, with Sirrus by Gummers products being rebranded as Bristan, although the Gummer name will remain on the end plate of devices such as mixers. Iain Stringer, general manager of Bristan, explains that by developing the commercial sector, the company is looking to its share of that sector from 6 to 15% over the next five years.
The new Britain commercial range includes the vast majority of products from the Gummers range, including capacitance non-touch technologies. The product portfolio includes one of the largest ranges of TMV3-approved mixing valves in the UK
A key target area, explains Iain Stringer, is to develop market share in the hotel sector by appealing to architects and M&E consultants to generate demand through specification.
One benefit of merging the two brands is that customers will no longer have to raise separate orders for Bristan and Gummers products.
The rebranding is supported by a £2 million investment in new-product development, a new specification manual and a new web site (www.specifybristan.com). A specification team has also been formed to work with architects to generate demand through specification.
