We are delighted to announce the appointment of Kevin Cashmore as our new National Sales Manager.
The appointment reunites Kevin with our Deputy MD Gareth Evans - the pair having worked together on two previous occasions over the past 25 years.
Kevin joins us from Blackheath Products Ltd, where he was Senior Business Development Manager for 10 years.
He says: "Gareth and I first worked together at a timber and decorative products firm called FG Chambers in the late 90s, early 2000s, and then we went on to open a branch of a firm called Premier Forest Products, which was a timber merchants looking to get into decorative products, which Gareth and I both knew about.
"We've kept in touch over the years as we became friends as well as colleagues and when Gareth told me about the job at HPP, he explained where the company is at, where it wants to go, and how he needed a like-minded person to come on board and support them in everything this incredible company is working to achieve."
Among a diverse range of duties, Kevin takes charge of our nationwide network of Area Sales Managers as well as the office-based sales team at our Oldham HQ.
"I've been in the trade for a long time, and I've underestimated what HPP can offer," adds Kevin. "We need to be shouting from the rooftops that it really is a one-stop-shop. We've got a great package with a great range of products and manufacturing facilities.
"But we can never stand still. Growth comes from more than one source - growing share of wallet, finding new customers and looking for new products and ranges to add to what we already have."
Kevin's also been speaking about the KBB industry, and this is what he has to say: "I think it is still in a difficult place. Covid had a massive impact in that four years' worth of trade was squeezed into two-and-a-half years, giving a false sense of business. Since then, consumers haven't spent as much, particularly because of the cost of living.
"That hits independent home showrooms, although the trade side, contractors, is doing much better because the large-scale projects are happening.