BAGNODESIGN, a premier supplier of luxury bathrooms and tiles and a division of the UAE-based Sanipex Group, recently launched two new collections – Urban and Bloomsbury – and opened a new Architecture and Design (A&D) centre in Dubai, UAE.

The new products were launched in a bid to position itself as an international brand supplying high-quality products, says a company official.

“The current trend in the market is towards high-end designs, both in the retail as well as hospitality sectors. Our latest collections, in classic and contemporary styles, are designed to meet the requirements of different markets served by the company,” says Daryl Barker, managing director of Sanipex Group, which has been ranked 15th of 75,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE through the Dubai SME100 initiative 2013.

The Urban collection comprising sanitary ware, furniture and brassware brings in the latest Italian styling to the modern bathroom environment.

Featuring softened cubic lines that are suited to modern city living, Urban sanitary ware includes a wall-hung water closet (WC) and a matching washbasin, which can be wall-mounted or supplied as an under-counter version.

The Urban collection also includes a range of furniture to complement the sanitary ware and provide an ideal storage solution in smaller bathrooms. With its handle-less design, the furniture is sleek and minimal whilst ensuring a clutter-free finish in the busiest of bathroom spaces and is available in a choice of five finishes for flexibility of design.

Completing the Urban line-up is a new range of ultra-thin brassware that will be a focal point of the contemporary bathroom, he says. A full range of brassware is available in the collection, from basin, bath and bidet mixers through to concealed thermostatic shower mixers. Available in either chrome or stainless steel finish, this new brassware – as with the entire collection of Urban bathroom solutions – brings in an air of elegance and sophistication to the modern bathroom environment.

The Bloomsbury collection is designed to create the air of elegant London living from the turn of the century, through the roaring 20s and the classic era of the 1950s. It brings luxury and opulence to the modern day, yet classically styled bathroom in true BagnoDesign fashion.

Giving designers free rein with their creativity, the collection features standard washbasins, which can be combined with a variety of different washstand options to suit the space available.

The collection also includes a range of furniture to ensure the bathroom is streamlined and orderly and a variety of antique-style mirrors to provide the perfect finishing touch.

The sanitary ware and furniture in this collection is complemented by three ranges of brassware, again offering designers high flexibility. Each style of brassware evokes a different era of the London high-life. The brassware is available in a choice of three finishes of chrome, polished nickel or gold.

For a truly co-ordinated finish, the collection is completed with a comprehensive range of accessories designed to match with the sanitary ware, furniture and brassware.

Besides these, the company has also launched a number of new showers and a pre-fabricated shower room.

A&D

The Urban collection ... Italian styling.

BagnoDesign’s new Architecture and Design (A&D) centre has been opened on the mezzanine level of its refurbished showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road.

“We have created a 1,200-sq-ft A&D centre in the 15,000-sq-ft showroom to cater directly to our professional design clientele, as the requirements of the designers are different from those of retail,” says Barker.

“We sell a lot of very high-end technical branded products for institutional projects, five-star hotels that don’t really fit into the retail area. So we have created a separate area, with mock-up rooms to display our project proposals in context to designers and developers in a unique and professional manner, so that they can visualise their designs,” he adds.

The company caters to three market segments, namely projects, trade and retail. It also has three separate sales teams. Trade comprising franchises and also wholesale accounts for 40 per cent of its business followed by projects at 35 per cent and retail at 25 per cent.

“Business has been good this year and we feel incredibly positive,” says Barker. “We are now focusing on increasing our own brand business. We have witnessed 30 to 40 per cent growth in sales from BagnoDesign.”

Commenting on being ranked 15th of the 75,000 SMEs in the UAE through the Dubai SME100 initiative 2013, Barker says: “Being ranked 15th in the UAE means a great deal to us at Sanipex. With so many other high-profile SMEs nominated for the awards, making the top 100 and the 15th spot is hugely encouraging, just the right motivation for us to maintain our focus going forward. The best experience has been the opportunity to work with people from many nationalities and cultures through our Bagnodesign and Aquazone brands in Dubai and around the world.”

Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) mandated to develop the SME sector, announced the 100 award winners at a special ceremony held at the Dubai World Trade Centre last month.

Post-ranking, the 100 SMEs will be offered capability development programmes based on their needs across such diverse areas as corporate governance, business valuation, human capital development, investment development, risk management and insurance and innovation. Taking a closer look at the nominees themselves, sector-wise, 53 per cent of those nominated were from the trading sector, 36 per cent from the services sector and 11 per cent from the manufacturing sector, representing a workforce of approximately 93,500.