KITCHEN RETAILER PROFILE | Hampstead Kitchens
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1. Motorised drawers 2. Burger by Bauformat 3. The showroom at night 4. A Beckermann display
trade? Well, his answer might surprise you: “Up until recently it has been 90% passing trade. We never had to advertise. We were always busy. It is quieter now, but we are more exclusive. We don’t entertain the cheap end of the market. Our prices start at £20k going up to £100k. With a cheaper kitchen you still get the same headaches and the same amount of aggravation. It’s not worth it. And rates and rents never go down. You have to do something that pays back.”
And reaching that payback is trickier when rent and rates are at the level they are on Finchley Road: “Rent has gone up. But there has been a slight reduction in rates as the council has tried to help out local businesses. But our rent review came just at the wrong time. Another reason not to do cheap kitchens. If people want that, they can go a little bit further up the road to Brent Cross as all the sheds are there.”
Going for premium brands helped us make sure we increased turnover. Business has increased each year. We have fewer customers, but they are
quality customers and they are spending more
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The majority of customers to pass through Hampstead Kitchens’ doors are local – mainly Greater London, although Zanjani explains that some customers who have properties abroad do ask him to ship kitchens further afield. He tells me of one recent customer who lives more or less opposite his showroom who had him ship a kitchen out to a property of his in Nigeria. “We can supply anywhere,” he says, “but they may have to use a local fitter. We know enough fitters around – if the money is right, they will go!”
Zanjani runs a tight ship. He has two designers – he did have three but one recently left and he is looking to replace them – and two full-time installers, one of whom has 30 years’ experience in fitting kitchens. He takes care of the general running of the business, helped by his wife. Amazingly, prior to setting up Hampstead Kitchens, Zanjani had no connection with the KBB industry.
“I was previously into commercial property,” he tells me. “I just wanted to do something different. My wife is an architect. We were very much into furniture and design and we were thinking about going in that direction, but ended up in the kitchen industry. It is probably the hardest industry to get into. It was a steep learning curve. If I had gone for furniture, where you just buy pieces in from Italy – sofas, etc – it would have been a lot easier. But I love to provide a good service for my customers.”
And so how has his business progressed over the years? “Brexit has affected everyone,” he confides, “but we have been
fine. It’s not quite as good as before, but we are still doing good business. Going for premium brands helped us make sure we increased turnover. Business has increased each year. We have fewer customers, but they are quality customers and they are spending more.
“Before we were selling five or six kitchens a month, now we are doing three or four, but each one is the equivalent of two of the kitchens we were selling before. I’d rather have that than mass volume. We can devote more time to each customer.” So what does the future hold for Hampstead Kitchens? Well, Zanjani smiles and tells me he had been planning to move into the shop next door and knock down the dividing wall. But Brexit made him more cautious and then Valcucine moved in. He reflects: “We have four or five displays and that’s all we need. How many does he have next door? He has one. Sometimes less is more. We can show people our finished projects on the computer and our customers don’t mind if we send people round to see their kitchens.”
And in any case, he explains: “This business keeps me so
busy, six days a week, it is just about getting home, having a bite to eat and going to sleep!”
kbbr kbbreview · August 2019
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