it’s been really good with the sinks and taps too. “Robert and Carl, from Symphony, came out


to meet us, as they are quite selective where Symphony puts its showrooms; we got on very well and within a year, we’re all set up. “Everything Symphony promised, it’s done.


The company held our hands through the whole process and whilst issues will crop up in a big showroom installation like this, these were resolved quickly.” Matt and one of the store managers, Emma,


are the designers of the kitchens. “Getting to grips with the design software was quite a steep learning curve,” Matt said. “We use the Fusion 2020 software. While there are other software packages out there, Fusion and Symphony work so closely together, so it’s a no brainer.” “The most rewarding thing we found actually


was we spent months using the software, having this image on screen, and then we walked into them finished, that’s quite a rewarding feeling,” Matt said. “So far, we’ve completed kitchens for two


customers – designed by Emma – and they look stunning. “We’ve sold four kitchens so far and currently


terms on freestanding appliances with some of the suppliers.” In terms of appliance brands, Matt said that the main stocked brands are Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool, Bosch and Neff. Matt said: “Neff is struggling at the moment


and we’ve taken a couple of Franke appliances, which we saw at the recent Sirius Trade Show. We’d like to support Franke long term because


have seven strong leads, which has all been achieved with fairly little advertising.” The Tonks gave Symphony 1,300sq ft of space; the first floor showroom occupies around half the space, while the New England kitchen in the window occupies 250sq ft. “We have quite a busy shop,” Matt said. “One of the challenges is getting customers upstairs, but having one kitchen downstairs and then the


eight kitchens upstairs starts that conversation. “It’s interesting to see their faces when they come up because customers have traditionally shopped with us for a number of years and seen how the space was used – Holbeach doesn’t have anything similar to this. “The nearest sort of showroom of this


standard is about 20 minutes away and you’d have to travel for at least an hour to find the closest Symphony showroom.” Matt said that he is pleased that kitchen sales


are going in the right direction “The thing that I love about Symphony is


there is always somewhere to go,” Matt said. “If it’s too expensive, we can go down a range, or we can trade people up. “We’re ecstatic at how the kitchen showroom


is already working for us, we couldn’t have asked for more.” Looking at kitchen sales, Matt said that the business has sold a range of sizes, from 3x3m to a barn conversion. “The lowest priced kitchen so far was around £4,000 and our biggest project was a £40,000 kitchen,” Matt said. “Some of the kitchens we are quoting on


now are priced at more than £40,000. We were excited when we sold out first kitchen and we’ll be excited to sell our first Laura Ashley kitchen.” The store’s two premium kitchens are Laura


Ashley and Linear. “Laura Ashley would sell for between £60,000 and £70,000,” Matt said. “We were brave enough to put it in and it makes a big statement.” Matt said that the business has had interest


from customers in Wisbech, which is 15 miles away from the store; and Spalding, which is eight miles in the opposite direction. “People have mainly found us through word of mouth, but we have done some advertising in the local newspaper, The Voice, a free paper that is sent to a number of pickup points in the area. The advertising was a fair price and we have a good relationship with the newspaper team.” The retailer offer supply only, but works with


two local fitters, and Matt said that the fitters project manage, which he said has worked very well. Tonwood Home Hardware employs 17 staff


here and generally has seven or eight staff working each day. Looking ahead, Matt says that he doesn’t


have a specific target for kitchen sales in mind. Matt said: “It would be nice to sell two or


three kitchens a month in phase one, but in phase two, we’d like to look at Symphony’s bedroom furniture and office furniture.” The Tonks have set up a business relationship


Symphony New York & Ashbourne October/November 2022


with Cosentino, which has supplied the stone worktops.


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