RETAILER PROFILE | The Kitchen Broker
OTHER RETAILERS WITH STAYING POWER...
The KBB Centre IPSWICH From humble beginnings selling out of his van and warehouse, Roger Peck and his brother Patrick have consistently grown The KBB Centre in Ipswich over its 20 years
YEARS 20
The ‘Component’ area where customers can choose taps, tiles, doors, and more
customer again, for the simple reason that we have done an exceptional job.”
The Kitchen Broker is based on a farm site and first started in what was an old pig shed. This was converted into a showroom and over a period of years, extra buildings were added, a proper entrance and reception installed, and a large tarmac car park provided. It is all single-storey and the customer is taken on a journey through one display after another until reaching the final area, where they can look at samples, components, taps, doors and such like.
Furniture factory
The business expanded from a turnover of around £30,000 in its first year to where it is today at over £1 million. It sells and installs around two kitchens a week at an average value of £17,000 with one recent project hitting £60,000, and it employs around eight staff, including three in-house fitters. Fitting is of course not something Theyer would want to lose control of, given his strong background on the tools. Around five years ago, he decided that he would set up his own furniture factory on another farm unit not far from the showroom. “I used to buy off a kitchen company in Birmingham and I was one of his top two customers,” he explains. “They had a big factory, but sometimes my jobs were interrupted because of supply issues and the fact that they would never say no to extra business. On the fourth occasion they let me down, just before Covid, I bought some machinery and turned my warehouse into a factory. We
In 2018, The Kitchen Broker opened its own furniture manufacturing facility
make the carcasses and buy in the doors.” The cost-of-living
crisis has had an effect on
The appliance pricing model that brands are pursuing do not favour retailers. It’s more cost-effective to let customers buy them online
business for many retailers, but Theyer tells kbbreview that he is finding things continuing at their “normal pace”. He admits, however, that they sometimes have to be flexible in order to accommodate customers with a slightly tighter budget. “People would come in and say they want a solid timber door, but we’d ask them why? And we might shift them towards a vinyl wrap or a foil wrap. That’s been one factor that has helped us maintain sales. “It’s the same with appliances. We suggest that instead of maybe buying maybe Siemens or Neff, why not look at Bosch, AEG, Zanussi or Whirlpool?”
Theyer says that the internet has really affected his profitability when it comes to appliances and complains that the current pricing model that manufacturers are pursuing “does not favour retailers, making it more cost-effective for
customers to purchase products online”. He adds that in many cases “the margins are just not there for retailers” and says that he would not consider partnering with a supplier if their values do not align. And so what of the future for The Kitchen Broker?
Is another showroom on the cards or would he look at expanding into outdoor kitchens or bathrooms? “I’m really passionate about my industry, but I’m a one-trick pony as well,” he tells kbbreview. “I’m a kitchen guy. And people ask, well, why don’t I sell bedrooms? Because I don’t enjoy it. Why don’t I sell bathrooms? Because I know nothing about that. “In terms of another showroom, it’s not in my immediate plans. I would rather supply another retailer with some good quality kitchen furniture. Because I’ve got that option in the other part of my business. And that’s what I would rather do, if I was being honest. I’d rather help somebody else get to where they need to be.”
in business to a 10,000sq ft showroom employing over 20 staff. The KBB Centre started doing kitchens but quickly expanded into bathrooms. They added a mezzanine level added in 2011 to house bathrooms displays.
Regal Interiors KEIGHLEY Adrian Frost started Regal Interiors in 1997 with his friend Michael Hawksworth. They saw a gap in the local market and believed they could quite simply ‘do things
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better’. With extensive KBB experience – with Frost as the sales designer and Hawksworth as the installer – they set out to develop a visionary company in a very competitive and always evolving marketplace.
Searle & Taylor WINCHESTER Darren Taylor started designing and making kitchens in 1991. Follow- ing a feature in the local paper, he began to get commissions for bes - poke furniture and
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kitchens, which started to build the business. He gradually made the transition to designing bespoke, handmade kitchens from a small farm workshop in Alton before moving to larger premises in Winchester.
Ream Interiors GILLINGHAM
Ream Interiors is a local, family-run business in the heart of Gillingham, Kent , founded in 1979. It specialises in bespoke, high-quality products and truly believes that
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this, coupled with its expert design, helps it create an interior built to stand the test of time. Its furniture is hand-built by a team in its own workshop opposite its showroom to ensure the utmost care is taken with each project.
Passmore Group LEEDS Passmore was
estab-
lished in 1965 by hus - band-and-wife team, Brian and Kathleen Passmore. They bought their first showroom in Beeston in
1970 and
their second in 1997. Eventually, leadership was handed over to their two sons, Tony and Steve. It now has separate divisions for kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, building services and accessible bathrooms.
• November 2023 YEARS 58
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