Interview: Flair Showers’ Martin Murphy on building a market-leading showering portfolio

Since it entered the UK market in 2022, Flair Showers has been gaining momentum – Sanbra Group MD Martin Murphy tells Emma Hedges how it takes time to develop a comprehensive shower enclosure portfolio that will offer the independent retailer exactly what they want.

At a time when many are struggling to stay on course as they navigate the choppy waters of a challenging market, Flair Showers has been growing steadily, and in the background its parent company Sanbra Group has been quietly expanding. Headquartered in Dublin with a group distribution centre in Lisburn, Sanbra now comprises 17 companies across its 4 divisions – plumbing & kitchens, showering, bathroom and hardware. The jewels in the showering crown are Flair, Majestic, and The Shower Lab, enhanced by brassware specialist St James England, which is part of plumbing & kitchens.

"It’s a strange one in terms of we’ve acquired the businesses instead of setting them up," says MD Martin Murphy, who – with his 3 brothers – now owns the group. "My father originally bought the first business with a business partner who retired and we bought out his shareholding about 10 years ago, so we were involved with the businesses since 1998. But lots of the brands are much older. Flair was set up in 1952, Majestic was set up in 1968, so there’s a lot more legacy and history to them than us."

While Flair was initially viewed as a trusted trade brand focused on the professional installer, on acquiring it Sanbra did some market research and repositioned it as a premium brand with the launch of its Harmony and ORO collections. Now the showering portfolio consists of Flair PRO – which Murphy describes as a "fit and forget, easy-to-install product", Flair Harmony Collections – an award-winning retailer offering that goes up to 8mm glass, Majestic – which was acquired in 2021, and The Shower Lab – which Sanbra Group acquired in 2024, and like Majestic is aimed at the luxury market. 

Once it's acquired a company, the group's strategy is to focus on letting it maintain its own identity. "When we first bought Majestic people watched us to see what we might do to ruin it but we just did nothing. Whenever you get the opportunity to get involved with a business anything you do in the first 12 months is typically a mistake – you should just sit back and listen and observe. The customers and the staff know what the problems are as well as the solutions. People are the key," says Murphy.

The full portfolio now covers a large segment of the market and offers a degree of breadth to the independent retailer that is seriously attractive. "Our product is built to last, it’s easy to install, it’s hassle free and that’s true for the whole portfolio. We haven’t had that innovation yet for the luxury end because we’re in the middle of NPD for Majestic and The Shower Lab so that’s coming next year to the market, but it’s a consistent trend – it has to be installer friendly, specifier friendly."

Having entered the UK market in 2022, Flair is still relatively new and, while it is always on the lookout for the right people, it's not rushing to grow its retailer network – "there’s quite a bit of positive momentum with us at the moment so we’ll keep going and let it happen organically," says Murphy. In terms of retailer support, it discounts displays and provides them fully installed – "we come and fit them, we also fit out the walls so the displays look great" – and it offers staff training with its sales and technical team. 

A mobile showroom provides potential customers with the opportunity to experience installation demonstrations and see products such as the Flair PRO Essential Collections enclosures for themselves. An innovation that the company is particularly proud of is its Click Fit PRO assembly system featuring its screw-free Click-Fit PRO Technology for quick installations inspired by the classic dovetail joint. "The dovetail joint has been around forever, but it’s just using innovation that’s around us to make life easier for the customers," says Murphy. The mobile showroom also gives trade professionals the chance to test the system, and see how it can be fitted by one installer, saving time and money, while improving safety too.

As a result of its steady acquisition trail, Sanbra Group is made up of many distinct parts and operates from 17 different sites, so balancing cultivating a company culture with respecting each brand's individuality is an ongoing challenge. "People are fiercely independent and proud of their unique identity and you have to be careful to respect that, but under the bonnet bring a bit of cohesion and efficiency," explains Murphy. One approach has been to introduce a management and leadership training academy where managers can come together to learn and also socialise. "We try to foster a bit of cross-business communication that way," says Murphy. "And we had our first group Christmas party last year, which was fun."

But added to that, Sanbra Group is very much a family business and this is evident in its ethos. "Core values of our business are integrity and humility. You can’t get carried away with a bit of success – an award or a nice order – you need to try and stay grounded. Design and innovation are also core values. And genuine care – care for the customer, care for our staff, and the local communities around our business," says Murphy.

Plans for the future include an appearance at HIX this month where Majestic, Flair and The Shower Lab will be sharing a stand, followed by InstallerSHOW in June 2026 where the plumbing and pumps products will be making an appearance. "We’ve also got some really innovative products coming to market in the next 12 to 18 months both in the showering division and in our other divisions," says Murphy. "There are a couple of products that we’ve been working on for a few years so we’re pretty excited about what's coming."

Overall he's very happy with where the company sits at the moment, along with the direction of travel. "We’re very lucky – we’re doing well and we’re growing," he says. "It hasn’t happened overnight. But we’ve grown each year and we’re expecting to finish this year well up on last year."