THE KBBREVIEW INTERVIEW | Barbara Borra EXCLUSIVE
‘ WE HAVE tA DUTY
Barbara Borra, president and CEO of Franke Home Solutions, talks exclusively to Rebecca Nottingham about her plans for the division and what it all means for retailers
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arbara Borra joined the Franke Group four years ago. An accomplished executive, she was essentially tasked with “turning around” the Kitchen Systems division of the Swiss company. “The Kitchen Systems division used to be the star of the Franke Group but, it had been fading a little over a 15-year period,” she explains. “It had gone through some very testing and challenging times, and I was basically
brought in to turn it around –
something I’ve been doing my entire career. “We’d been very successful up until that point – the undisputed market leader, in fact – then 2008 hit and, in truth, we’d got a bit complacent, which helped feed the competition. And, by the time the crisis was over, our relationships with some customers in certain countries had been compromised. We needed to put that right, which is where I came in.”
In January 2021, the Franke Group created the Home Solutions division adopting a whole-system approach to supplying a range of kitchen products including sinks, taps, waste management solutions and appliances. “We had the opportunity to merge our extractor specialist brand, Faber, into the Franke business,” she explains. “It was an obvious
choice to make because the
products complement each other. We saw this as an opportunity for a new start and that’s why we created the new division – Home Solutions.
“The title not only better reflects the true integration of our portfolio, but it also highlights the change in the size and role of kitchens today. So, we started a new journey but in the spirit of continuity because the pillars – people, product and channels – are our go-to-market strategy. It is now back to being the most important business within the company again.”
26 Q & A
Q: You’ve explained the reasoning behind the formation of the Home Solutions division and the benefits to the Franke group, but what does it mean for UK retailers? A: As the Home Solutions (HS) division, we have set ourselves the goal of steadily expanding our presence in the kitchen. Our anchor products – sinks, taps and waste management – will continue to act as door openers, but the addition of innovative appliances opens up the possibilities for retailers to increase sales. With a complementary, perfectly matched range
of products from a single source and simpler sales and service structures, we can support our retail partners even better and offer their custo- mers – end consumers – the best possible experience. In doing so, we are creating real added value for retailers.
Q: How is the Home Solutions division of Franke performing globally and in the UK at the moment? A: Turnover for the division was just over €1 billion in 2021. That was obviously off the back of the incredible demand we saw across the global home-renovation market during the Covid pandemic. There were clearly lots of challenges to deal with along the way as well, such as difficulties with the supply chain, soaring container and raw material costs etc, but demand was still very sustained. The KBB industry – and the Franke Home Solutions division specifically – had a dynamic start to 2022, but by summer we started to see
o support retailers’
demand across the HS and wider KBB sector tail off a little as travel restrictions lifted and people were finally able to go on holiday. I’m glad to say that the solid foundations and investments we made in our supply chain and product development we had put in place paid off, because while consumer demand dropped, as a division we still performed well.
The addition of innovative appliances opens up the possibilities for retailers to increase sales
Q: How significant is the UK market to the Home Solutions division and the Franke Group as a whole? A: Europe accounts for around 80% of the Home Solutions division turnover. The remaining 20% is then evenly distributed between the Americas and Asia. The UK is one of the top four performing countries for HS/Franke. It’s a significant business indeed. We have a very mature organisation in place in the UK, which has really embraced the introduction of the Home Solutions division. Since 2021, we’ve been expanding our reach to really complete the system and now we are launching appliances in the UK.
Q: Franke has tried to launch appliances in the UK before, what’s different this time? A: We recognise that there are ongoing supply issues in the appliance channel and feel that our
portfolio can provide our network of dealers with a solution. Kitchen specialist retailers have also become quite disillusioned with selling appliances as margins have been eroded across the board due to their availability online. It’s important to be clear here that we don’t have any ambition to become a pure-player appliance brand. We will have a selective distribution strategy initially to ensure we get it right. The USP is
· January 2023
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