Retailer profi le


kbb Birmingham 2018 Show Special


Utilise space


Originally, to your left as you entered the showroom was a wall featuring a small cupboard that hid the showroom’s fuse boxes. Instead of taking the easy route and keeping it exactly the same, the Khans decided to use the space to show off more of their design capabilities. “It’s an awkward space because it has a sloping ceiling,” Shehryar explains. “But, with a


little bit of attention to detail, we’ve managed to include shelving, drawers, a wine cooler, a sink and worktop space. The mirrored splashback makes the space feel bigger and the panels mean we can get to the meter and fuse boxes when we need to. I think it’s important to show off as much of your creative fl air as you can in your showroom, because you never know what consumers might need when they walk in. We’ve created a compact kitchen scenario, but you could easily put in some storage for coats, shoes and bags.”


A mix of styles


This kitchen is an in-frame from the 1909 collection by PWS. Being able to offer both contemporary and traditional styles was an important part of Shehryar’s plans for the business. “Mark Wilkinson has been a huge inspiration to me. I’ve always admired the style of kitchens he designed and I knew I wanted to include one like it in my showroom. This one has all of the elements you’d expect to fi nd in a traditional kitchen – butt hinges, thick worktops, a chef’s pantry, a range cooker.”


Our showroom is not just a series of cupboards in spaces and that’s where a lot of retailers get it wrong, in my opinion


builders to renovate the showroom; we’ve used our own fi tting teams. So, the fi nishes you see in here, you’ll see in your own kitchen project and that’s really key. Our showroom is a showcase of exactly what we can do for consumers.” Shehryar explains how one of the fi rst things he did when tackling the showroom design was to think about how he didn’t want it to look. “Although I had a lot of industry experience, running our own kitchen business was completely


new to us, so before we started out we did our research. When we looked at other showrooms for ideas, we found that most retailers tend to fi nd a space and just stick a kitchen in it – or at least that’s what it looked like a lot of the time.


Displays “We didn’t want to cram a load of displays in for the sake of it. Nor did we want to create a space where clients would walk around and leave feeling the same as they would in many other studios. “We spent months designing how it would look and it was all done in stages. Once I was happy with the layout and design of the space itself, we then got down to the individual displays – considering materials, fi nishes and the different types of worktops. Then we got down to the taps and appliances, the splashbacks and the colours. The fi nal touches, like the lighting, the accessories, the tiles and the wallpaper came later, but they are just as important to the overall look.”


20 kbbreview kbb Birmingham Special Edition March 2018


Sheraton specialises in kitchen furniture from


Schüller, Nobilia and the 1909 range from PWS, all of which were chosen for their “cutting-edge designs, quality and value for money”. In terms of work surfaces, they’ve partnered with Silestone and Spekva. They’re working with Blanco for sinks and taps and Quooker for its boiling water taps. “We’ve gone for a combination of contemporary German and traditional British kitchens,” adds Shehryar. “The fact that we offer both is something else that’s giving us an edge.


“A lot of brands demand exclusive rights within a showroom but, from a business perspective, I think it’s a mistake to go down that route, as you run the risk of boxing yourself in by only appealing to a certain percentage of the market. As a design specialist, you need a variety of brands to be able to ensure you remain competitive and creative. We’ve given each brand a good proportion of the showroom.” You can tell the Khans have clearly thought about


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