RETAILER SPOTLIGHT: NEUTRA KITCHEN
extends into pieces such as tables, chairs, stools and butcher’s block tables. It means a customer can discover items that sit slightly outside what they might expect from a conventional cookware retailer. “I think we’re different,” Khan says. Getting people through the door to discover that difference requires work across several channels. Social media has become increasingly important. During the period between Mayfair and Putney, Khan used the time without a physical shop to develop Neutra Kitchen’s Instagram presence, establish a TikTok account and make improvements to its website. Khan sees digital activity and physical retail as parts of the same job
rather than separate businesses. “It’s a combination,” he explains. “You’ve got to do everything. When people come into the store, you have to build relationships with customers and offer services, but then you’ve also got to do social media, check the website and make sure you’re doing that. “It’s a constant evolution.” That means he has to spinning plenty of plates. “You have to be very hands-on, very involved,” he says. “We always
listen to our customers and try to make the right decisions, and hopefully we can continue to grow.”
Believing in the high street
The challenges facing that growth will sound familiar to independents across the country.
Online competition is an obvious pressure, as are business rates, finding the right location and recruiting good staff. Shoplifting is another issue Neutra Kitchen has encountered. Retailers along Putney High Street are part of a WhatsApp group that allows businesses to share information about incidents and known offenders.
“It is a problem,” Khan admits, but he is reluctant to allow the challenges to overshadow the opportunity. “These are challenges that we know exist and you have to overcome
them,” he says. “You have to keep believing that you’re making a difference.” Perhaps the biggest statement of that belief is opening a physical shop at all. At a time when the narrative around the high street can often be dominated by closures, Khan has moved Neutra Kitchen into a prominent high street location and is preparing to recruit and train more people as the business develops. For the type of brand he wants Neutra Kitchen to become, he believes bricks-and-mortar retail remains essential. “People still want to go and shop in bricks and mortar,” he says. “You
can’t dismiss that.” The opportunity, in his view, lies in creating high streets where people once again want to spend their time. Retailers, cafés and other independents all contribute to making somewhere a destination rather than simply somewhere to pass through. “We’ve got to revive our high streets and revive places of enjoyment,” Khan says. “Coffee shops are great, but you’ve got to go somewhere to enjoy that coffee.” It brings us back to the experience he wants customers to have when
they step inside Neutra Kitchen. “We want people to come in and, just for that moment, get a little bit lost in the store.”
Standing among the cookware, colourful tableware, kitchen accessories and displays in Putney, you understand what he means. The store is only just getting started. More products will arrive,
displays will evolve, the team will grow and Khan expects the range to continue responding to what customers tell him. Longer term, he is already open to the possibility of taking Neutra Kitchen elsewhere. “There’ll probably be more locations somewhere down the road,” he
says, although he is understandably unwilling to put a destination or timescale on that just yet. After all, Putney has only been open for a very short period of time. For now, the focus is on establishing the new store and building on the
progress of the past six years. He concludes: “We want to build on it and hopefully take Neutra Kitchen to the next level.”
22 |
February/March 2025
housewareslive.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
