d70 KITCHENS THE FUTURE STARTS HERE
Strothoff went on to explain that while the somewhat frantic period of boom and bust in kitchen retailing in the 1970’s and 1980’s was over, in its wake was a more settled kitchen market.
When the CEO of a European buying group with over 3,000 individual kitchen specialists controlling around 4,500 showrooms tells you that the boom days of kitchen retailing are over, you tend to sit up and take notice. But before the 2,700 delegates at the 2019 MHK Group Conference could head Lemming-like towards the nearest cliff, Hans
Big changes were afoot, suggested Strothoff. Kitchen spaces were getting smaller, but consumers still demanded a ‘full kitchen solution’. In Germany he said, around 45% of consumers wanted a ‘connected kitchen’ and this was an obvious influence on kitchen design. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Success in Changing Times’, and one of the biggest changes the kitchen market was due to face was the digital shopping habits of the 30-something
Each cabinet needs to have a specific function, almost like an appliance does.
“There is no point in having a unit with five shallow drawers, only to wish you could fit your pots and pans into that exact unit. So, we encourage kitchen designers to plan each cabinet with a specific function in mind, this will mean the cabinet almost configures itself.”
This is a view supported by Shanti Panchani of Home Consultancy. “It’s the difference between a kitchen planner and a kitchen designer,” says Panchani. “A kitchen planner’s main concern is fitting the space out with units, but a designer will tailor the space to suit the way a client works and uses their kitchen. We design a number of kitchens for the Asian community who have a different cooking style and storage needs from
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consumers who had never experienced an analogue world, explained Strothoff.
The MHK Group, with its €6bn turnover in 2018 and a sales increase of 8.3% has out-performed the market, says the above-average growth of its affiliated companies is due to a growing demand for knowledgeable kitchen retailers by consumers. Tomorrow’s consumer will want to be personally advised by an expert, touch the kitchen, experience design and technology live, it says.
But consumers are also finding more information on the internet, so Strothoff announced that the MHK Group is investing in the
our European clients. We specialise in using furniture by Ballerina which is flexible enough for us to tailor a kitchen for any of our clients.”
“Usability is another important consideration when fitting out a small kitchen,” agrees Robinson. “Every cabinet has to work as hard as it can, and that means full extension drawers so there is no wasted space at the back. It also means all the contents of the drawer are immediately visible and accessible.
“Our Space Tower unit for example is a fantastic larder solution – with five internal pull out drawers it comes in a huge variety of widths and depths, so using as much of the floor space as necessary. The drawer sides are different heights (one shallow and four high), so can accommodate anything from packets and tins, to cereal boxes
The Blum Space Tower unit, with five internal pull out drawers, comes in a variety of widths and depths and only uses as much of the floor space as necessary
expansion of the online services available to its partners. It presented its new ‘EasyRoom’ measuring app which enables the end customer to measure their kitchen space and provide a foundation for an online planner. This will be supplemented by a proposal wizard, which provides an initial basic plan on request.
"With their own homepage and the new functions, our partners have a comprehensive package to drive online traffic and engagement,” said Strothoff.
Above: Hans Strothoff founded the MHK Verbundgruppe in 1980. He is the CEO of MHK Group AG, a community of medium-sized kitchen and furniture trading companies across Europe
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