With 16 years’ service already completed with MacNaughton Blair in the roles of bathroom sales and Group Showroom Manager, Lauren Robinson is expertly qualified to drive the growth of both Watershed and Wood Floor Warehouse forward in her new role as Business Development Manager for both brands.
Over the last eight years as Watershed’s Group Showroom Manager, Lauren has driven the brand from strength to strength within the MacBlair branch network, offering a wide variety of bathroom products and tiles to both the trade and retail sectors. The product portfolio focuses on providing quality products at competitive prices and has resulted in Watershed leading the way as one of NI’s top bathroom retailers. With the success of that retail-led approach, Lauren was appointed to help replicate that business model with the newly acquired Wood Floor Warehouse.
“Both brands appeal to the general public, but while Watershed has a network of seven strong retail stores in Northern Ireland, Wood Floor Warehouse has a massive business online, with two stores here in NI and one in Warrington, GB.
“I’ve been involved in the bathroom showroom sector since 2007, so flooring is a completely new industry for me. It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to exploring new development opportunities for Wood Floor Warehouse, both as a standalone brand and within the MacBlair merchanting network.”
In her new role Lauren will be overseeing a refurbishment programme for the Watershed showrooms, including display updates and a shake-up of tile ranges to respond to trend changes. “The importance of staying on top of the current trends is vital within the bathroom and flooring industry and is something that we will be prioritising for both Watershed and Wood Floor Warehouse. We stay up to date with the latest in interiors and listen to our customers and what they are inspired by. Both businesses also make use of the latest virtual technology to help our customers visualise their product options and aid the decision-making process.”
At the same time as strengthening the Wood Floor Warehouse name as a standalone brand, Lauren will be managing the introduction of its vast range of flooring items within MacBlair’s builders’ merchant branch network.
“This is something we’re really excited about,” said Lauren. “We have always had wooden floors in the MacBlair branches, but now we have the strength of the Wood Floor Warehouse name and the ability to capitalise on a strong online business model. Customers can call into their local MacBlair stores and see the floors in situ, or they can browse the range online before visiting one of the local Wood Floor Warehouse shops or their local MacBlair branch.
“It’s a massive advantage for us at Watershed and Wood Floor Warehouse to be a part of the MacBlair family and it’s strong trade connections. We work closely with the MacBlair sales teams to ensure their customers can take advantage of what we can offer in terms of range, price, trends etc.”
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