8 minute read
Robert Welch
The Robert Welch way
The Robert Welch name speaks volumes. The company’s reputation has been built on years of excellence, their narrative is of luxury, performance, style and quality. With both hospitality and consumer a focus in global markets, Tableware International’s Mairead Wilmot caught up with managing director Rupert Welch to learn more…
Rupert, how has business been for Robert Welch recently? Robert Welch had to adapt over the course of the Covid pandemic and benefitted from increased demand through lockdowns which saw direct and indirect online sales increase. We are renowned for our cutlery, especially Radford, the largest range of stainless-steel cutlery in the world, but sales of our Campden cookware and Signature Knives have also been particularly strong. Like many businesses we are still suffering the effects of the pandemic with continued supply chain disruption and manufacturing challenges. However, we have adapted, emerged stronger and are well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities both here in the UK and in our expanding global markets.
Which sector is performing best for you – hospitality or consumer retail? Both! We continue to see strong consumer sales through our retail partners and are developing our trade offering to attract new customers who are keen to add the Robert Welch brand
Rupert Welch, managing director , Robert Welch Designs
Did you know?
Radford is the largest range of stainless steel cutlery in the world with 71 individual items. The assortment was extended specifically to appeal to hospitality customers.
Radford Bright Cutlery
both instore and online. Hospitality bounced back with particularly strong sales of cutlery and our Drift range of serve and tableware. We are also growing our brand presence in all sectors across global markets such as the US, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
The brand is such an iconic name in the business – do you feel a pressure to uphold, and progress, the standards set by Robert Welch himself? Everything we do is anchored by the enduring design principles that we have held dear for almost 75 years. We talk about the “The Robert Welch DNA” which runs through the entire business from our design philosophy, exacting manufacturing standards and the relationships we hold with our customers and consumers. The Robert Welch Way is truly at the heart of everything we do.
What are the biggest challenges the company faces? Like most businesses we are dealing with supply chain issues, increased freight and production costs. We monitor our pricing and have reacted accordingly, but we are agile in our approach to these issues as they are compounded by the cost-of-living crisis and an uncertain global economic outlook. We obviously can’t influence these global issues, but we are nimble and are adapting our business operations and investment in stock to ensure product availability and we continue to provide our customers with outstanding customer service and sales and marketing support.
The Radford range is one of your best-known collections and I believe it is the largest stainlesssteel cutlery range globally, how regularly do you add to it? Yes, Radford is our most popular and revered cutlery range and currently consists of 71 individual items. The range has developed beyond knives, forks and spoons to include gourmet dining and serving so by choosing Radford you really don’t need to look anywhere else. You can just keep adding to your collection! We extended the range specifically
Market growth
Robert Welch is growing its brand presence in all sectors across global markets such as the US, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.
Drift Serve and Tableware
to appeal to our hospitality customers, but the size of the collection also gives our retail customers confidence when choosing Radford. We continue to constantly review the range to see if there are any items we are missing, recent additions have been the drink stirrers and an amuse bouche spoon.
Which are your most popular collections for retail, and HoReCa? Our enduring cutlery ranges offer something different to complement the style of any hotel or restaurant. Radford remains ever popular but designs such as Quinton have the added appeal of being available in a Vintage finish which fits a variety of styles
favoured in today’s interiors. We have also seen a lot of interest in our unique textured ranges such as Sandstone and Blockley Slate which is new to Collection 3.5® and offers a tactile feel in the hand as well as adding an accent to the table. Our stunning Drift Collection is a big hit with the hospitality sector. Made with 18/10 stainless steel the collection is specifically designed for hotels, restaurants and cafés and includes serving bowls, trays and stands, jugs and pitchers, tea and coffee sets and barware. How much time is put into designing your assortments? Take the ranges within the Master Collection as an example. The same attention to detail is applied to a tiny condiment spoon as to a soup ladle, we never compromise on function and quality. Our Master Collection features some of our best design led and iconic designs as well as pieces that are particularly challenging in terms of manufacturing.
Do you find consumers are paring back on what cutlery they use in the home? We have found there is a trend towards eating more casually at home. Bowl food for example
continues to be popular so we have designed slightly wider fork heads and many sizes of spoons and sporks. However, everyday family dining and formal entertaining are still the primary sales drivers for cutlery in all sectors.
Of course, Robert Welch is not just cutlery with tableware, barware, kitchenware too – as a brand are you interested in expanding your growth into different category sectors? We are always reviewing our collections and have several
The Collections explained...
Blockley Slate Cutlery, one of the latest launches from Robert Welch
Rupert explains the concept behind Robert Welch’s Collection 3.5, Collection 5.0 and the Master Collection…
“We are proud of our reputation for beautiful cutlery. Every item is designed to last a lifetime, manufactured to the highest standards and is a pleasure to use. The design and look of any table is a personal reflection of style but with an extensive range of 34 distinctive designs and choices of pattern and finish, weight in the hand and price, choosing cutlery can seem overwhelming. To help, we created two main cutlery collections: 3.5® and 5.0® and then in a class of its own, Master Collection.
Collection 3.5 is made from a slightly thinner 3.5mm gauge of stainless steel, giving each piece a lighter feel in the hand; an entry-level option. All 12
designs within Collection 3.5 are at the same price point. Collection 5.0 is slightly heavier but still well balanced and more of a premium choice. Again, all 17 designs have the same price point to make purchasing easier. The Master Collection includes design-led statement pieces requiring the highest levels of manufacturing expertise and these are priced individually.”
Sandstone Bright Cutlery Campden Cookware
design projects underway. However, we remain true to the enduring principles of design and functionality. Our diverse collections including Drift Service and Tableware, Campden Cookware and Burford Bathroom fittings and accessories have familiar design cues which are instantly recognisable as Robert Welch, and we instinctively know where to draw the line.
Is working with different source materials something you would like to do more of? We designed the dinnerware and cutlery for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, but we are really known for designing stunning pieces in stainless steel and this will continue to be our strength. Mixing materials to complement stainless steel is always challenging but finding suppliers who can work to the same exacting standards as the factories we have developed deep and long-lasting relationships with, is also difficult. We pride ourselves on product quality and will not compromise.
Do you find there is a pressure to constantly innovate new products? We have a continual program of product development to satisfy the demands of our customers and changing consumer trends. Our strength is designing products to last a lifetime.
What is your opinion on trade shows? Will you be attending Ambiente, for example? We will have a presence at Ambiente 2023 as face-to-face meetings and showcasing our product ranges are hugely important to us. However, the last two years have shown that strong relationships can also be built with customers in other ways such as video calls. Going forward, we expect to use a mix of platforms to show our latest offering and an example of this is shown through the interactive hospitality lookbook we have recently developed. This is proving to be a strong selling tool that can be easily presented over a video call to anywhere around the world! (www. robertwelchhospitality.com)
Finally, what is next for Robert Welch Designs? We’ll continue to develop timeless design-led products which marry function and form but we’re also looking forward to building the Robert Welch brand worldwide.
Signature Kitchen Knives
