talking shop Luxe Cookshop


This month, Housewares editor Bryony Andrews spoke to Abigail Taylor, director at Luxe Cookshop, an independent housewares specialist located inside home furnishing store Bell of Northampton.


with our customers and give the service they deserve.


In your experience, which housewares suppliers would you shout out as the best to work with? This year we have invested into ranges from Captive Brands, we have been thrilled with the quality of the products and price points. The umbrella of products on offer is fabulous including the Mary Berry line which is stunningly beautiful. The support from the entire company has been greatly appreciated and we can’t wait to see what they bring out this year. We have worked with Michelle at Dexam


How would you describe Luxe Cookshop in one sentence?


A family run business bursting with the latest cookware and gifting alongside great customer service.


What were your bestsellers in 2021? The best sellers of 2021 had to be Ladelle 3-piece serve sticks in all colours, Maxwell and Williams Donna Sharam design Love Heart Range, including mugs, coasters and tea towels. The vibrant colours seemed to attract people after a hard few years. Dexam Scion Hot Pot Stands - this was a new product for us this year and it has really taken off.


What are housewares consumers looking for in 2022? Our customers seem to want a splash of colour in their kitchens. We think everyone wants their spirits lifted after such a hard year. Outdoor dining has also become a lot more popular after lockdowns and restrictions - people have discovered the joys of entertaining outdoors so we expect a big increase in this sector.


What were your highlights of 2021? Coming out of lockdowns and having so many loyal customers returning to us having waited purposefully for us to reopen so they could support small local business rather than online really touched our hearts. It was a joy to see so many faces coming back and being able to engage


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for a few years now and we couldn’t ask for a better support system. Times have been hard these past for years but we received nothing but the best care from Michelle and the whole Dexam family. The new ranges coming out for spring and summer I’m sure will be a great success, including the new Bees Knees Mango Wood range. These eco friendly sustainable products are exactly the way the industry should be going in.


What challenges does the UK independent retail sector face currently? How are you meeting these challenges? The biggest challenge we have had is getting people back into the store. COVID has hugely decreased footfall which is understandable. As the country faces such uncertainty with this pandemic it is natural that the shops would suffer. To help put our customers at ease, we have rearranged the entire shop to make large pathways and ample space so people can maintain their distance should they wish to, we have sanitising stations and we have masks available should a customer forget theirs. The only issue we are facing is stock shortages due to a number of reasons. We have had to adapt out ordering strategy to try and minimise this as much as possible to ensure we also have a wide range of products available at anytime.


What would you change and what would you keep the same for independent retail in the UK currently?


As a family run business we love the • HousewaresLive.net • twitter.com/Housewaresnews January/February 2022


camaraderie between other independent businesses. This is something I hope will continue. I would like to see more big suppliers


to the industry focus more energy on the independent market, sometimes it is very hard to compete price wise when a supplier’s focus is on large chains or online. There is a place for the independent shop and there is a lot of growth available.


What are your aims and goals for 2022 and how will you reach them? Our biggest aim this year is to get people back out and into the local shops, we intend to start offering our cooking demonstrations and attend local food festivals to spread the word. We would like to find some new and innovative products this year. We have felt due to the current global situation there has been a lull in the market for new products. We want to be excited and feel refreshed. In order to find these we will be turning out heads towards new suppliers and attending exhibitions throughout the year.


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