by Khrysti Balanay
Highgrove Bathrooms may only be a few months old, but it is already leaving a big impression.
Located in the old Post Office Hotel Building on Musgrave Street, the store is Highgrove Bathrooms’ 50th location across the country.
Seeing an opportunity to expand to Central Queensland, director Simon Moore relocated from Cairns to open a new store in Rockhampton.
“It was a really quick process to get it all together,” he said.
“We started with an empty shell on 15 November and finished construction on 14 February.
“We were quite lucky that we didn’t have many delays in the building products.”
Since opening the new store, Simon’s appreciated the reception from Rockhampton, saying the response had been strong.
“Everyone has opened their arms and been very welcoming,” he said.
“We do a fair bit of networking and go to as many events as possible.
“Currently, we have three staff members working for us, but we are looking for another person to join our team.”
Highgrove Bathrooms offers a variety of products in their 700-square-metre showroom with the support of a 900-square-metre warehouse, allowing products to be stored onsite.
“At Highgrove Bathrooms, we manufacture everything ourselves,” Simon said.
“We don’t have any other suppliers that we would deal with.
“As far as products, we sell everything from bathtubs, showers, toilets, vanities, mirrors, and other fixtures.
“We have everything anyone would need for a full bathroom renovation.”
Highlighting the products are manufactured within the company, Simon said it meant they have more control over quality.
“We can design something that we want to put out to the market and trial it,” he said.
“If it works well, we can bring it out to our stores nationwide, which I think is unique.
“Besides the variety of products, we also provide four different colours for each tapware range.
“There is chrome, brushed nickel, matte black, and brushed brass, which is a big win for us.”
Highgrove Bathrooms plans to hold several events and sales throughout the year, but in the meantime, Simon is happy with the progress so far.
“Setting up this store and seeing the positive and great reaction from the locals in Central Queensland has been a high point,” he said.
“We have been getting customers from Emerald, Gladstone, and Mackay coming down to visit us.
“It’s nice to know that people want to use us for their bathroom renovations.”
