THE KBBREVIEW INTERVIEW | Jamie Schneider
of the main reasons for the brand’s success is that it has never changed its ethos. It’s built on offering a really good product – Concept 130, our mid-range offering, and Systemat our high-end range – a good level of supply and a good service to our customers. We’re also a very open and fair company. It’s that stability that has helped make us so successful. With Häcker you’ve got that dependability, that
reliability, but you’ve also got that design aspect as well. The products basically sell themselves, so our job is to understand exactly what we can do to help our retailers increase the profitability of their business. It’s about giving our retailers the expertise and the knowledge to be able to confidently sell and order German kitchens – that’s the service element again and that, I have to say, is what we do really well. One big thing that’s rarely spoken about is that
there is little room for order error with Häcker and that is so important for retailers. Every order that is submitted by a retailer is redesigned by our team in Germany to ensure it will work as a kitchen project. Our theory is that if it’s surveyed right, it’s designed
right and it’s ordered correctly that
kitchen should be absolutely perfect because all the hard work has been done in the beginning. That care and effort helps Häcker to be the efficient model it is, and our customers love that.
Q: How key is the UK market to Häcker? A: The UK is a very important market for us. It’s our third biggest export market – behind France and Holland – and one of the highest-value markets we operate in. I feel that Häcker is one of the best Anglophile kitchen manufacturers supplying the UK – and has been since the 1970s. We deal in sterling, which makes it easier for our retailers, and we have this dedicated showroom [40 Harrowby Street, London] for our customers to bring their clients to. I’m proud of our achievements in the UK – both in terms of our team, but also what retailers manage to achieve with the brand, particularly as it’s a unique market. We have a lot more higher order values and more unusual designs – often with a variety of textures and finishes in one order – than our counterparts in Europe.
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Q: What about independents, how important are they to the brand? A: We [Häcker] recognise we are just one supplier to the independent retailer and that it is the name above the door that’s the important one – the one that gives them the value – which is why the furniture is unbranded. The way we work gives retailers the opportunity to emphasise their own brand credentials and gives them the opportunity to tell their own story.
Q: Have you noticed a change in what retailers expect from their suppliers since the coronavirus pandemic? A: Most definitely. When events like the pandemic come along and the supply chain is interrupted, retailers really test the mettle of suppliers and how they perform. It definitely encourages retailers to look elsewhere. There’s never been a better time
Häcker timeline
1898 – Carpenter Hermann Häcker founded a joinery company 1938 – Friedrich Häcker takes over joinery 1965 – Horst Finkemeier takes over the joinery from his father-in-law which marks the beginning of kitchen manufacturing at Häcker 1996 – Horst’s son, Jochen Finkemeier, joins the company’s management team 2022 – Current management team – Jochen Finkemeier, Markus Sander, Dirk Krupka, Stefan Möller
to find new dealers – we’ve certainly brought in new partners off the back of the pandemic. The door is ajar now for a lot of dealers and a lot of them do seem more receptive to change, but I think they’re also very cautious. It’s a huge investment for a dealer to change suppliers and a huge learning curve. It’s also a huge investment for a supplier like ourselves to take on a new dealer. The products sell themselves, but it’s about how you work together, the rapport you have and how we integrate in each other’s businesses that takes the time. We must work very hard to understand their needs and the focus of their business and work with them to achieve that. Interest, hunger, and enthusiasm for new products is obvious among retailers at the moment.
Q: In your new role as MD, what are your aims and objectives for the brand in the UK? A: We are one of the leading kitchen furniture brands in the UK and I’m obviously focused on continuing that legacy. It’s not broken, so there’s nothing to fix, but we have a lot of opportunity to grow our business in the UK – through existing accounts, new dealers, and developers – so that’s the aim.
Every business wants growth, but we don’t want to be everywhere and never have. We have always been very focused on finding new dealers where we’re not strong in a city or town.
My focus – with the help of my fantastic team –
is to grow our business in areas of the UK where we’re not strong and really understand the needs of our customers, so that we can help make their business stronger and more efficient.
· May 2022
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