The City Plumbing story
City Plumbing, part of the award-winning Highbourne Group, has long been trusted by trade professionals, self-builders and homeowners across the UK and Ireland. With over 360 branches and more than 4,500 colleagues, the business is known for its local expertise and wide-ranging product offering across plumbing, heating and electrical supplies.
Keen to build on its success and create an even stronger customer experience, City Plumbing made the strategic decision to implement Cyncly’s Virtual Worlds 3D bathroom design software across 290 showrooms nationwide - the largest rollout of Virtual Worlds by any company in the UK to date.
A typical City Plumbing showroom spans 1,400 sq ft (with the smallest at around 600 sq ft) and is designed to feel more like a retail environment than a traditional merchant setting. Low-level walls ensure clear sightlines across inspirational bays, cameo displays, taps, showers and tile selections, creating a welcoming and aspirational space for customers.
Why change was needed
City Plumbing recognised that evolving customer expectations and the demand for a more visual, immersive buying experience meant that upgrading its design capability was crucial.
While the brand had used another Cyncly product, Fusion, for over 13 years alongside internal systems for pricing, the time had come for a transformation. Stephen Smith, Managing Director of City Plumbing, explained:
“We wanted to align with the direction Cyncly was moving in, and Virtual Worlds was clearly the future for bathroom design. It also offered the supplier catalogue breadth we needed to support our expanding product offering”
The scale of the transition presented several key challenges:
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Content readiness: Before training could begin, City Plumbing’s full range of catalogues needed to be accurately represented within the Virtual Worlds platform.
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Training at scale: With over 300 showroom colleagues to upskill, a full training programme had to be delivered within a tight 3-4 week window.
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Change management: Moving from predominantly 2D design to a fully 3D environment meant a major shift in how showroom teams operated and engaged customers.
To support the transition, Cyncly worked closely with City Plumbing to train internal champions, who could then coach their peers across the estate. A dual-running period was also introduced, with Fusion and Virtual Worlds available side-by-side for a month to ease the learning curve.
Virtual Worlds 3D Design
City Plumbing went live with Virtual Worlds across its network in November 2024, timed to be ready for the critical January sales period.
“Any change is difficult, and this was a huge undertaking," said Stephen Smith. "But as our teams became more confident, we saw incredible designs emerging - some are already causing a real stir on social media. We’re getting through the change curve and starting to see the real potential.”
With Virtual Worlds, City Plumbing showroom teams can now create highly realistic, compelling 3D designs that bring customers’ visions to life faster and more effectively. This not only supports direct-to-consumer sales but also strengthens City Plumbing’s preferred way of working - partnering with trade professionals by handling the design aspect, saving time and helping them be more profitable.
Additionally, with City Plumbing’s fast-paced product development cycle, Virtual Worlds ensures that catalogues are always up-to-date, helping showroom teams access the latest ranges immediately and respond quickly to customer needs.
Looking ahead, City Plumbing is preparing to implement One Price, integrating live stock information and trade account pricing directly into the Virtual Worlds platform, further streamlining the customer journey.
The outcome
Since adopting Winner Flex, Kitchen Mania has seen a range of significant benefits:
● Increased kitchen sales: More than 5x growth in annual sales over 12 years
● Enhanced customer experience: Easy-to-understand visuals and smooth design process
● Improved team efficiency: Faster project turnaround for 14 designers and 8 preproduction staff
● Ongoing innovation: Open API integration and regular updates keep the system future-ready
● Stronger business performance: Winner supports the company’s growth across retail and commercial sectors
“The ease of use at the front end and the customer experience is second to none. We’ve grown significantly over the past 12 years, and Winner has absolutely helped us get there. It helps our customers visualise their new kitchen and helps our designers work faster and more effectively.”
The Benefits
Since implementing Virtual Worlds, City Plumbing has seen significant early wins:
Looking ahead
City Plumbing’s investment in Virtual Worlds is already delivering results - and the future looks even brighter. As teams continue to build confidence and refine their 3D design skills, the business expects even greater gains in customer satisfaction, sales conversion and brand loyalty.
"We’re excited about what’s next. The more skilled our teams become with Virtual Worlds, the stronger our designs, and our customer relationships, will be,” concludes Stephen Smith.
Transforming customer experiences
By adopting Virtual Worlds, City Plumbing has taken a major step forward in bringing innovation, efficiency and outstanding customer service to the heart of its bathroom design offering. With Cyncly’s cutting-edge technology, City Plumbing can create immersive, personalised experiences that inspire customers and drive sales.
Discover how Cyncly’s solutions can help your business work smarter and sell more by visiting www.cyncly.com.
“The photo realism is brilliant. When customers see the images, it really helps sell the dream because it looks so realistic.”
– Ellie Borrows, Showroom Manager, Aintree
“The realistic renders are fabulous and give a truer vision. I like that a majority of our brochure is loaded and ready to go-encouraging me to go directly to our brochure products as opposed to third party suppliers.”
– Mia Lord, Showroom Manager, Grimsby
