The Rogerseller Story - Responding to Change

“Having the ability to change is not easy and it requires a great team – it requires a team that is comfortable with change,” says Rogerseller Managing Director James Edmund. While it may not be easy, change has been a constant throughout the Rogerseller story, and the ability to respond to change has been key to the company’s continued success over more than 100 years in business.

Rogerseller began in the late 1890s in Melbourne, founded by John J Rogers. Former Managing Director John Edmund’s uncle joined the business as a partner after the turn of the century. “My uncle suggested to my father that I should come in for a fortnight’s work experience, which I did, and that fortnight extended out over about forty years,” he says. In the 1970s, his role extended to overseas travel, forming exclusive partnerships with some of the world’s leading suppliers and manufacturers. “I met some wonderful people in all parts of the world, many of whom are suppliers to our business still today,” he recalls. “Most of those are, like ourselves, family companies that we’re able to meet on a one-on-one, owner-to-owner basis.”

“Our clients are very design forward. We aspire to be a leader in that space, and so, therefore, we need to be constantly evolving and innovating,” James Edmund says. In order to meet the needs of a discerning market, Rogerseller as both a designer and manufacturer seek to create products that deliver the quality, design and ease of use that architects and specifiers require. “We recognise that time is a critical ingredient that they are short of and our brand team spends a lot of their efforts in trying to design solutions that are easy to use and effective in allowing the architect to design and specify our products,” James explains. “We are very proud of that, our products are timeless, we only deal with quality design-led products and when you deal with Rogerseller you are actually dealing directly with the manufacturer.”

Fantini is Rogerseller’s tapware manufacturer, known for the fact that while their manufacturing is exclusively done in Italy, Fantini partners with leading designers globally to create innovative and exceptional quality products. Catalano is the ceramics manufacturer renowned as the best in the world, whose ceramics are produced with a unique Cataglaze finish that is both stain and hygiene resistant. “Claybrook is another partner of ours, who manufacture marble form and stone-based baths and basins, they are very responsive to our needs and to the manufacturing of products specific to the designs required for the Australian market,” says James. Italian kitchen designers and manufacturers Valcucine is second to none in the combination of materials and engineering and are the only manufacturer in the world with a sustainable kitchen that has an end of life return policy. Meanwhile, Falper is a designer and manufacturer of bathroom furniture, basins and bathtubs, “a very design-led business, privately owned, husband and wife working in the business, second-generation Italian firm,” says James.

Embracing change over the past 130 years has enabled Rogerseller to take a prominent place in Australia’s ever-growing design industry and forge a connection between international and Australian design. For James, as the third generation of the family business, this means taking this change-oriented approach and focusing on ensuring the success of the business into the future. “Legacies are not something I think that the current generation needs to focus on,” he says. “In fact, I think they would become a distraction. The legacy will be for others to judge. I have a very keen eye on ensuring that the business continues, and that the fantastic team that we have built continue to enjoy doing what they do.”