March 2024
ertonline.co.uk
“Over the years we have always tried to make our showroom a very welcoming and homely place for our clients,” explains Mr Morley. “We have a limited number of kitchen displays but each of them have unique and interactive features highlighting all the possible colour and configuration options available. “We often host various interiors-based and culinary events. We are very fortunate to have some brilliant partnerships in the industry and all our brands’ products complement our showroom perfectly.” In September, Vama Living hosted a week- long showcase event alongside each of its different suppliers – “it was a lot of work, but so worth it,” admits Mr Morley. Smeg’s Home Economists were on-hand to
cook for guests and demonstrate products; they prepared fresh pizzas using the Smeg Stand Mixer to mix the dough and a pizza stone in the Omnichef oven to cook them, and they even made fresh orange juice using the brand’s Citrus Juicer! Then to launch the new Laura Ashley kitchen in the store on the final event day, professional chef and food writer, Peter Sidwell, cooked up some dishes for guests.
“This showcase week was the culmination of
all the bits of the puzzle coming together,” Mr Morley adds. “They really helped to engage our customers around our products in an informal and relaxed setting.”
Jack Cheeseman and Philip Morley Q&A
Q: Tell me about your brand partnerships and how they all developed to where you are now.
Philip Morley: During the pandemic we had this stark realisation that our business might have changed forever. We couldn’t sell a luxury kitchen online and we couldn’t go into people’s houses, so as an installer it was quite limiting!
Fortunately, we had already started working with Farrow & Ball (F&B) the year before. We noticed the main supplier in the area was closing down and as a high-end interior design brand we knew we wanted to take on some of that business. We started off just doing paint sample pots and wallpaper books. But when the pandemic hit paint sales went through the roof and we were absolutely inundated with orders; our usual lead time was about two to three days, then suddenly it became 30 days, but people were happy to wait. The busiest day in F&B’s history was on 23 March 2020 when we first went into lockdown – it just went ballistic! This developed into a really huge part of our
business and it was our saviour at the time. As we came out of lockdown we became a top level F&B stockist – we lease the paint mixing machine and make the colours here on site. We are the only retailer in this region that has that facility. We had that eureka moment where we realised
that working with these high-end brands would help us attract the same level of high-end customer and give us the long-term stability that we wanted. We discovered Symphony Group and their range of Laura Ashley kitchens, which in turn lead us to Sirius Buying Group, and then on to Smeg.
Q: How have you found it being part of Sirius Buying Group? PM: It’s been a revelation. As a small independent retailer I found it difficult to get direct accounts with some manufacturers, but we were opened up to many more opportunities after we joined Sirius in 2022. I attended the group’s Supplier Conference that year and spoke to so many great brands.
But I also met with the Smeg team to discuss becoming a Premio Partner. They said “you’re just what we’re looking for”, and it went from there. It was a bit like the F&B situation – they wanted us as much as we wanted them. >>
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