comment CHARLES FRANCIS, Proprietor of Chef’s Ware at Hastings in East Sussex On The Floor


saucepans, bakeware, sugarcraft and cake decorating, tea and coffee, textiles, chef's clothing, pottery, sink management etc. We carry about 80 brands.


How many suppliers do you deal with? We deal with 13 suppliers on a regular basis (KitchenCraft, Taylor's Eye Witness, Le Creuset, Grunwerg, Meyer, DKB, Dexam, SWITYF, Horwood, Culpitt, Beam, Netherton Foundry and Chef Works), and 12 more that we have used and we may use some of these again.


“We would like to


What’s your background? I have run a number of businesses, but this is my first venture into retail.


Why did you decide to open a cookshop? I have always found it difficult to buy things I want for the kitchen. The quality in supermarkets and chain stores is often poor and not worth having. Good kitchen shops are few and far between. Retailers often offer too small a range of stock and don't have what you want. I was ready for a new business and my son


Angus Francis had retail experience opening shops in Scotland. It seemed to us that Hastings [a seaside resort in East Sussex] had a need for a cookshop.


Tell us a bit about Chef’s Ware. We decided to go ahead at the beginning of August 2017, and opened the shop before the end of November. We chose Queens Road: a run down, but


improving, shopping street in Hastings just outside the town centre where rents are (relatively) modest.


Initially we had 60sq m, but when the shop next door became available we decided to expand to 80sq m.


How would you describe your range? Extensive. We have over 6,000 products in store, ranging from KitchenCraft to Le Creuset, and from cake decorating to Japanese knives.


What product categories do you cover? All product categories of kitchen equipment: small appliances, knives, cutlery, utensils,


December 2019 • HousewaresLive.net


open a second shop in a larger and more prosperous town”


How do you find products? Mainly through company catalogues, but also trade shows (only Spring Fair so far), rep visits and internet searches. We have also been contacted by phone.


What are your best-selling lines? By volume: Taylor's Eye Witness silicone utensils (typically under £5) and KitchenCraft MasterClass bakeware (typically under £15). By value: SWITYF Damascus steel knives (£30-£60), Le Creuset stoneware (£10-£60), Le Creuset cast iron (£100-£300), Meyer Anolon Nouvelle Copper (£42-£130) and Cole & Mason salt and pepper grinders (£10-£75).


Angus Francis


What lines have you started stocking recently? Netherton Foundry spun iron pans and woks, and Chef Works chef's clothing.


What’s on your counter? Beeswax wraps from The Beeswax Wrap Co. and mini graters and miniature bottles from KitchenCraft.


How many competitors are in your area? The nearest direct competitor is in Bexhill, but customers come here from as far as Eastbourne. The nearest effective competitor is Dunelm but we believe we offer better service and support, and have a better range of stock.


Who is your typical customer? Mainly women, particularly middle aged and upwards – and a reasonable number of chefs.


How do you market and promote Chef’s Ware? We advertise in car parks all around the town, at the station, in magazines - and we have started radio advertising.


What additional services do you provide? We sharpen knives in-house using a Tormek grinding wheel.


Where do you face the biggest challenges? To compete with the internet, we have to maintain a large range and be able to restock rapidly. I have a background in mathematics and computing so I find it reasonably easy to manage the spreadsheets necessary to interface between the stock management system (EPOS) and suppliers.


Where are you taking the business next? We would like to open a second shop in a larger and more prosperous town


• twitter.com/Housewaresnews housewareslive.net | 33


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