RETAILER PROFILE | Holte


A selection of kitchen design projects from the team at Holte


Holte was, though not necessarily intentional, always built on sustainability.


“In many ways there were sustainable aspects to the Holte business before we even started looking into the carbon footprint of our kitchens,” explains Fiona. “By giving people the opportunity to customise basic cabinetry or update and personalise a kitchen, we were adding longevity to something that could have been more short-lived.” Tom admits that while most of their clients don’t necessarily approach Holte because of their sus - tainable credentials, attitudes towards understanding their personal impact and thoughts on protecting the environment are changing.


“The majority of our customers, tend to come to us just because they want a new kitchen,” he admits. “Before they come here, I’d say that people don’t really associate a kitchen or building work with the need to make sustainable choices. I don’t think it’s because they don’t care, it’s more like they are overwhelmed with the task at hand when it comes to purchasing a new kitchen and sustainability doesn’t seem to be a consideration.


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“That said, we’ve definitely seen a change in attitudes and genuine interest from consumers in carbon offsetting since undertaking the project.” Like many KBB businesses, Holte became an unwitting success story of Covid which, although is obviously good news from a business perspective, the Ginnetts’ admit has, at times, felt uncomfortable considering the negative impact it had on so many people’s personal and professional lives. The company doubled its turnover between May 2020 and May 2021 and, at the time of our interview, were on track to double their turnover again this year. The


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Holte team has also grown significantly over the past two years – it now has six designers, all with a mix of interior design, product design, furniture design and architecture backgrounds. “We started Holte in late 2017, but 2021 was the year of real acceleration,” explains Fiona. “The rise in demand for home renovations brought about by the pandemic lockdowns certainly had an impact on the business, but I think it was a combination of factors. “In March 2020, a couple of weeks before the pandemic really hit, we had our most successful week yet – taking nine sizeable orders in one week. Over the next couple of weeks, as the lockdowns began and uncertainty took hold, a lot of jobs were paused, but they all came back once we knew we could safely continue.”


Fiona explains how most of their projects come via recommendation from previous customers, archi- tects, or interior designers. However, they have definitely had a few ‘passing trade’ customers who have spotted the showroom on their way to, or from, the local Broadway market. “In general, we prefer to rely on word of mouth, return business and


We identified a gap in the market between where bespoke starts and where high street ends and decided to build a business that focuses on kitchens that offer a unique finish at a more


affordable price point Fiona Ginnett, co-founder, Holte


meticulous and thorough research by our customers,” Fiona explains. “As we find this brings us the types of clients and projects we really love. Footfall was never something we really considered as we had always intended it to be an appointment-only space, but it has definitely been beneficial to the business.” Taking their commitment to turning their business – and their customers – more sustainable – the team are now in the process of designing a modular kitchen concept which, they hope, will change attitudes towards kitchen furniture. “We want people to think about kitchens as pieces of furniture that they invest in and take with them when they leave a property,” Fiona says. “You wouldn’t dream of leaving your dining room table or a sideboard behind and yet, something, like the kitchen, that we put so much love and attention into designing, you close the doors on when you move or simply rip out and replace after 10 years. “The idea for the modular range was born out of


this idea that we should start thinking about kitchens as furniture again, like we did before the fitted kitchen came out in the 1950s. “You’d have modules of furniture – like the island, the sink unit, the cooker unit, etc, whatever works for the client’s lifestyle and space – that people will keep for a long time. The goal is to create this circular system whereby the products stay in circulation for a long time and we would adapt them to fit a new space or fulfil a new need.” Tom adds: “We’re


not expecting people to


understand the idea overnight,” he explains. “It is going to take a change in attitudes towards how we view kitchen furniture in this country.”


Although educating people that by making small changes we can all, as individuals, make a huge difference to climate change, what steps do the Ginnetts want the industry to take? “We admire companies like TUKC, UKE and other retailers like Sustainable Kitchens in Bristol, for instance, because their intentions are clear and they are doing everything in their power to push sustainable choices,” says Fiona. “But now, as an industry, we need to do better. “We will always try to source the most sustainable products and manufacture in the most sustainable way we can,” explains Fiona. “We will continue to calculate the carbon emissions of every project we design, but it shouldn’t just be down to retailers. It’s down to the suppliers too. It’s a huge project to undertake, so I can see why most independents wouldn’t be able to invest the time and money, but if suppliers measured the emissions of their com - ponents, the job would be more achievable.”


· June 2022


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