ESP - Bathroom Retailer of the Year 2021

By Joel Newman and Emily Walker

In the last 30 years ESP has been revolutionary in introducing new advancements in interior design to Lancashire.

The founder of ESP, Ahmed Bhayat began business as a plumbers merchant and located a considerable gap in the market. It became apparent to him that there was a notable lack of quality sanitary bathrooms currently available; he decided to research this further, speaking to customers to determine what they were looking for and ultimately concluded that a stronger presence of the prestigious

brands that could be located throughout Britain and Germany was required. With this determined, deals were secured with the leading manufacturers in those areas such as Villeroy & Boch and Heritage, their first showroom opened on Kent Street in Preston. At the time the showroom only exhibited the sanitary ware they had available but

the company soon grew. In no time at all their initial showroom had increased to a 20,000 square feet retail space which they still have today. With this increase in space they offered further exclusive brands including: Axor, Hansgrohe, Oasis, DornBracht, Fiora and Crosswater to name just a few. Then in 2017 the company made the decision to expand and grow their company, they were looking for a new direction and fresh ideas, with that in mind they appointed their new Managing Director, Luckman Ismail who joined the company with over 15 years of experience in business development, retail development and the bathroom and tile industry, this experience also included working abroad with international companies, supplying ESP with new possibilities. This enabled them to start supplying a wider range of products from throughout Europe and other continents also. This initiative was marketed as the New Generation of ESP.

Once the brands were secured ESP then invested a lot of money in order to bring the showroom in line with current trends, by the time they had finished it was comparable to some of the most high end showrooms in Chelsea. The main aim with the transformation was to entice the domestic customer, interior designers, architects and open doors to commercial projects. Another initiative at this time was to grow the business further by introducing new brands that supplied tiles and kitchens so that they could begin to streamline the industry. In pursuit of this they managed to secure a deal with one of the leading German kitchen manufacturers, Nolte. Nolte has been voted for the third time in succession: Germany’s most popular kitchen brand. This was the results of a customer survey by the German Institute for service quality (DISQ). The interviewed customers rated 14 kitchen manufacturers and gave Nolte the best results for product, quality, design, value for money, range and brand.

In their quest to supply the best available in the business, ESP research the market place, travel to international destinations, visit exhibitions and they work tirelessly to understand the market trend with the objective of bringing the latest most practical products to their showrooms for the people of Lancashire and surrounding areas to benefit from the new products before any other retailers have introduced the innovative designs. In doing this they have also been able to work with some outstanding architects on projects such as interior designs, secured commercial products including city apartments, executive house developments, highly luxurious top end houses, places of worship and hospitality including hotels. Apparent from all their designs, the real objective for ESP as a company is to give the best value for money for the user without compromising the practicality behind the products, resulting in the incredible success ESP has seen to date.

Incorporated with in ESP is a team of 10 incredible designers, headed by

their Chief Designer, Junaid Bhayat who has successfully completed 25 years in the industry and also sits on the board for certain manufacturers which is a product development board. They are not just designers, they take a brief from the client, will run through the journey of their day, in regards to the products that are required and the ideal placement of them, their designers understand practicality and budget and then provide a solution. These solutions will be presented via 3D renders together with a full presentation of how the end result will appear and the benefits it will supply to the customer, a truly remarkable service.

In 2018 ESP were given the opportunity to expand further by building a brand new showroom in a prime location in the city of Preston, less than 2 miles away from the current showroom. The board of directors at ESP decided that this showroom will be the flagship showroom for ESP and that it would establish the image for the industry across the country. There would be no compromise in regards to the budget and it was

determined that the presentation and quantity of products on display was paramount. The deal was secured for the new showroom and the work commenced with the new project being managed by their Managing Director Luckman Ismail. The main body of work took place over a damp and wet winter, but with hard work and perseverance from the whole team the showroom was completed in February 2019. The internal designs were then created by their Chief Designer Junaid Bhayat, who jointly managed the design with the guidance of their chairman and founder who collectively established what would be an award winning showroom.

From the showrooms opening in November 2019 the company had a limited time to trade due to the adverse effect of the COVID 19 pandemic which sadly had a bad effect on a lot of families around the world. The hearts of everyone at ESP goes out to those around the world who lost loved ones to the pandemic but it looks like we’re over the worst of it and they pray we never see something like this again.

When the showroom reopened ESP had secured more niche brands which had not previously been available in the North West and which had only been available in the South such as: AntonioLupi, Casabath , Sicis, Diesel Living and Orvi to name only a few. It was at this time that the ESP flagship showroom was awarded Bathroom Retailer of the Year 2021 by KBB Review, an industry recognised accolade. The nominations were UK wide and after being shortlisted it was announced they were finalists. This news was overwhelming for the company as they received their invite to the KBB review awards, a prestigious ceremony that was to be hosted in the beautifully historic monument that is Liverpool Cathedral.

The evening of the awards was presented by actor, author, comedian and presenter, Joel Dommett. It was a grand event attended by the most established of people across the country including leading bathroom and kitchen manufacturers. The event ran seamlessly and was very well presented, a complete success especially considering it was the first of its kind since the pandemic. Despite the night being enjoyable the team of 9 representatives of ESP whose attendance was sponsored by Merlyn Showers found that it was nerve-racking to sit through the awards and when their category came, all described having butterflies in their stomachs. When the announcement was made it was a dramatic moment, there was a long and painful silence before a roar erupted from the table as their name was called and their entire table went crazy. As an independent family run business, they were the first company of its kind from Lancashire to ever be nominated for this award and win.

The judges described the award winning showroom saying “ESP really is an amazing bathroom showroom in so many ways. The frontage and position are excellent and are key to their marketing. The layout and scale of the displays are fantastic and the number of working displays is unparalleled. The Showroom is impeccably finished to incredible detail and the staff were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Their understanding of their customers’ needs is excellent at every stage of the journey and their empathy for budgets is both clear and subtle. A truly worthy winner in every sense and a genuine flagship for our industry.”

As proud Preston people they were thrilled to gain this award and acknowledgement for their home where ESP had established and developed throughout the years but also to gain the achievement for all of Lancashire and fly the Red Rose flag. It was a magical night, receiving the award was uplifting, to be announced Leading Retailer for the industry not only put ESP but also Preston on the map. It also showed that the brands they have in their supply chain are accepted and raised their profile, giving them the full acknowledgement they deserve. The after-party was the most perfect celebration. Quooker were fabulous hosts and provided the ideal opportunity for everyone to let their hair down after all their hard work securing the award, with Martin

Kemp as the DJ the dance floor was on fire- a fantastic evening that will always be remembered.

Their award winning showroom is one of a kind displaying working showers, working steam room, working whirlpool baths, working kitchens, working shower heads and features the largest independent single manufacturer water working display exhibiting the 5 metre area of Axor Hansgrohe water feature. Further unique qualities include a fully accessible toilet facility by Keuco, allowing full use of the products they sell with in the showroom itself. It is their firm belief nobody should have to compromise in their lifestyle to accommodate to factors beyond their control such as disability, which is why they wanted to provide those people with the best available. They are the only retailer in Preston that has TOTO working toilet displays additionally these are the most revolutionary of designs including toilets with washing, drying, heating and memory capacity features. ESP describe their showroom by saying that “At our Queens Showroom, we feel we are unique in many ways; from the service we offer to our breath-taking displays.

The purpose-built space is modern and sleek and features a stunning glass exterior that shows of our beautiful displays from the outside. We’ve used vibrant lighting to create a gallery-inspired interior.”

It is the objective of ESP to create an atmosphere in the showroom that will make anybody that enters feel at home, providing them the opportunity to feel the practicalities of the new designs and features in their day to day life and inside their home. Their designers are very creative meaning that your experience in the showroom and the company will be very special, customers will often get back to the car and say ‘wow’ the extensive work of ESP is never unappreciated and is all encased within their breath taking designs. Their styles and designs are so show-stopping that people have found that posting about them has resulted in a substantial increase in views and likes on their social media, but for ESP it is all about the customer and how they can best help them.

ESP are again planning the next step forward, in no way did their excitement and enthusiasm end with the award, it has merely encouraged and motivated them to consistently remain the best in the business. It is not being the largest showroom in the country that is important to them, it is being the best in the industry that matters. ESP wish to thank their incredible team for all their hard work, their customers for their support and belief in them and their suppliers for working so hard and supporting them in all their accomplishments thus far. The journey has just begun. For more information, you can visit their website at: espbathrooms.co.uk

Or to take a look at the products first-hand, take a trip to one of their showrooms: Esp Bathrooms

Unit 2 Queen Street Preston PR1 1PE Thorn Buildings Kent Street Preston PR1 1PE