ANALYSIS | Retailer round table


pendent fitters doing kitchens as well. But I agree with Torben, it’s about understanding the level of service that you have to offer to appeal to your target clients.


JM: The competition in Newcastle is important. There are a lot of nice showrooms out there – some of them bigger than us, some smaller – and they all do different things. I welcome it because I think by shopping around, the clients will understand that we are a German kitchen specialist. That’s what we are good at.


QUESTION 5:


There’s been a lot of talk recently about digitalisation and how businesses need to embrace it to succeed. Where are you at on that journey?


TS: We do a bit of social media. We’re finding that a lot of our customers are coming to us through recommendation, and we don’t need – or aren’t looking for – that many to keep the business ticking over. Fifty kitchens is a really busy year for us. That said, we understand the need to embrace it and we see a value in it. We’re getting our reviews online and we’re on Instagram.


PM: Digitalisation is something we are investing a lot of time and money on. Our website is currently being redesigned to make it much more of a fitting front window for the business and we do a lot of work on social media. We’re working towards a much more structured social media approach now as consistency is very important – currently we’re posting four times a week on Instagram. What works really well for us is before-and-after project pictures.


32


These are just using photography taken on the fitter’s phone, so it’s really achievable. We employ a part-time marketing


person who manages the social media as well. We look at reach, engagement likes and saves


to


assess what types of posts work and the results help to determine the content for the following week. Aside from the social media and website aspect of digitalisation, we’re also using it to look at streamlining processes through automation to improve efficiencies across the business.


JM: We jumped into social media around 15 years ago – so we were early adopters. What we found quite quickly was that the key to the success of each post was down to the quality of photography. So, we employ a photographer to take pictures of every kitchen we fit. Because we became active in social media and because our pages took off, it soon created a level of additional tasks that my wife and I couldn’t manage.


So, we use a social media manage- ment company through our MHK membership. They keep our social media rolling and we just add to it as and when.


PM: Regardless of the size of the business, the reality is that the customer is online. So, I’d say it’s a matter of


deciding what


digitalisation means to you as a business owner.


Finding out what platforms your customers use regularly and where they gather their information online from, for instance, is key. There’s no point posting on Facebook if the majority of your customers only look at Instagram. You should also


use that


might not – and doesn’t have to – mean employing someone to manage your marketing. What’s key is acknowledging what’s right for your business. Things are changing and it’s up to us in our own, individual businesses to recognise what that change looks like and what do we need to do in our own businesses to take advantage of the change and to not get left behind.


QUESTION 6: What is the


biggest challenge you’re facing at the moment?


TS: Personally, for us it’s time. Having enough time to do everything


to the standard you


want to do it to. I’m sure that goes for everyone running a business to be honest. Aside from that, the need to adapt is a big challenge.


JM: Keeping the plates spinning without letting standards drop is the biggest challenge.


PM: For me, it’s about making sure that the standardisation in terms of processes doesn’t get in the way of building that personal relationship between the designer and the customers.


QUESTION 7: to


determine what kind of content you post. Also, for you digitalisation


Considering the uncertainty coupled with the changes –


digitalisation, consumer behaviour, squeeze on budgets etc – how confident are you in the long- term success of your business?


TS: Confident to be honest. We’ve had a really strong first two years. Obviously, under exceptional circumstances, but we’re still really busy. We have a good, strong pipeline of orders coming through – a good level of enquiries. At least until the end of this year we’re solid. Let’s see what next year brings, but we’re ready to face any challenges.


PM: We’re optimistic about the future as well. On the contract side we’re already working 2024/2025


looking very positive.


There’s a housing crisis in the Irish market – we need thousands of new houses – so we’re confident there’s a market there. The challenge for us is to adapt to the market changes.


Retail-wise, certainly in Ireland, the consumer is


uncertain, but


we’re confident that we’re doing the right thing as a business to make sure we get our share of the pie when they do spend.


I also think it’s about not panicking, even when you have periods where the traffic through the showroom isn’t great.


Stick to your guns, be true to your strategy and keep believing in your proposition.


JM: From my standpoint, I’ve seen the business through the financial crash of 2008. Covid’s come and gone. We’ve had a dip followed by two boom years. For Haus 12, everything stays different. Don’t hold on too tight, be willing to adapt and make changes when necessary.


• August 2023


on projects so that’s


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