Viewpoint // Stephen Flower


Staying true to ourselves


Now in its second generation of family ownership, Ashford Kitchens & Interiors has weathered its fair share of industry and global turmoil, but owner Stephen Flower chalks it all up to versatility and embracing change


O


ver the past 16 years, we’ve built on strong foundations to create and define our brand, building a loyal, trusted team


and implementing structured systems and processes, while remaining true to the principles that define us. That continuity does give you some real


perspective. We’ve found that longevity rarely comes from one big decision or a significant moment, but more from a mindset and how you respond when things become uncertain. Over the years, we’ve experienced recessions, financial crises, Brexit, Covid, and the ongoing challenges the market continues to bring. It becomes clear quite quickly that most of these situations sit outside of our control. What we can influence is how we respond, how we react as a team, and the standards we try to maintain. The Covid period in particular stands out


to us. Almost overnight, we had to rethink how we operated, moving to remote working, staying connected as a team, and finding new ways to continue designing and selling kitchens whilst supporting our customers. As things developed, supply issues became


a real challenge across the industry. We found that rather than looking elsewhere or focusing on what wasn’t working, it helped to take responsibility ourselves and focus on finding a way through. That mindset, of just getting on with solving the problem did keep us motivated and forward thinking. Many of the processes developed and implemented during Covid now form a core part of our day-to-day operational practices. This included improvements in stock management, more efficient goods handling and warehousing processes, as well as the


There have been plenty of moments where we’ve taken things on before feeling ‘fully ready’


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introduction of remote design consultations. This has allowed us to expand our catchment area while making our design consultants more accessible and efficient.


Shared responsibility To me, resilience is strongly influenced by


mindset. Many times, we’ve had to step outside our comfort zone. Growth hasn’t really happened when things felt easy or certain, in fact, there have been plenty of moments where we’ve taken things on before feeling ‘fully ready’. Those situations haven’t been comfortable,


because the reality is you are never truly ‘fully ready’. But they’ve often pushed us to be more resilient. We’re in one of those phases right now! There have been moments where we’ve had


to make very difficult decisions. Not every idea, supplier or relationship fits where you’re trying to go as a business, and sometimes moving forward means leaving things behind. That often requires confronting uncomfortable truths and accepting that not everything can come with you on the journey, even if it once felt right. Another area that’s shaped our thinking


over time is our relationship with our suppliers. We don’t see them simply as vendors, but as partners in our business and aligned with what we’re trying to achieve. Their stability has a direct impact on ours, and their ability to innovate often shapes what we can offer to our customers. Particularly during challenging periods, we’ve


found it helps to approach those relationships with a sense of shared responsibility, working through problems together and trying to find solutions collaboratively. We’ve never spent much time focusing


on competitors. Instead, we’ve mainly look inward at how we can improve, raise standards, and do things a little better than we did before. That approach naturally feeds into the customer experience. From what we’ve seen, customers are increasingly looking for longevity in a business, total trust, genuine guarantees and simplicity, especially when things feel uncertain. If we can make the process easier and deliver consistently, it seems to make a real difference. Winning kbbreview Kitchen Retailer of the


Year in 2025 was a proud moment for the team. It felt like recognition of the effort that goes on behind the scenes day to day, but it’s never been the goal to win industry awards. Our focus has always been on doing things the right way for our customers and any industry recognition is a positive by-product of that.


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August 2026


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