THE ERT INTERVIEW SYMPHONY, SIRIUS, 2020


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‘Selling kitchens is a natural progression for many retailers’ Selling fully-fitted kitchens is one way that electrical retailers are developing their


businesses, and there’s one partnership that is forging the path for more independents to get involved in this growth area. Jack Cheeseman met with


Simon Collyns and Robert Williamson from Symphony Group, Steve Jones from Sirius Buying Group, and Brandon Kwesiga from 2020 + Compusoft to find out more.


customers include private developers, social housing providers and also independent retailers both in the UK and overseas. Business growth in recent years has led the


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company to expand its manufacturing and distribution space – which already totals nearly one million square feet across its three sites – at its HQ at Pen Hill Estate in Barnsley, where an additional 300,000sq ft factory will be built. Symphony has a collection of kitchen brands –


Gallery, Milano, Freedom and Linear, and most recently added, the Laura Ashley Kitchen and Fitted Bedroom Collections. Upon sale, everything is delivered direct from the factory to either the retailer or the end customer ready for fitting. The company already has a strong network of


independent kitchen retailers across the UK, but to build up this side of the business, in 2017 Symphony became an approved supplier to Sirius Buying Group. The partnership provides


The new 300,000sq ft factory at Pen Hill


ymphony Group is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of fitted kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture, founded in 1971 and it has remained in private ownership ever since. Its


Symphony with access to the Group’s kitchen appliance retailers who want to start offering kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. This move has attracted more kitchen studios to Sirius and more conversion to kitchen retail. Steve Jones, Managing Director of Sirius Buying


Group, explains: “Symphony has been instrumental in our bid to attract new kitchen retailers to our Group. Some have started to allocate floor space to include five to 10 kitchen lifestyle displays as a way to attract new revenue streams and compete on the high street.


“Using Symphony’s expertise and knowledge


has given our members the confidence to venture into a whole new area of business.” Adds Robert Williamson, National Business


Development Manager at Symphony: “Joining Sirius was a natural fit for us; it is our role as a premium kitchen manufacturer to be able to react to and anticipate market disruption so that our retailers can thrive.” Meanwhile, Symphony has also worked with


its core technology provider, 2020 + Compusoft – a global software powerhouse, for nearly 30 years; 2020 provides specialised visualisation, sales, manufacturing and content solutions to help retailers and professional designers bring their customers’ home spaces to life. The company currently boasts over 250


Symphony independent retailers and it has recently joined forces alongside Sirius to offer exclusive support for its members, including reduced subscription fees for its CAD design software and dedicated Account Managers to mentor retailers with the onboarding of the new systems.


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