STORAGE SOLUTIONS Rachel Tuckey
Hafele
Matt Broughton was in conversation with Rachel Tuckey, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Häfele UK.
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of a new incentive programme aimed at kitchen designers,” says Hafele UK’s Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Rachel Tuckey. “We expanded our splashbacks range with the launch of our ‘Decorative’ collection, featuring a mix of on-trend marble, wood, tiled and concrete finishes. They offer everything you could want from a splashback, from both an aesthetic and functional perspective, as they’re beautiful but also scratch resistant, and have a fire-resistant core. We’ve thought about the installer’s needs by using high precision manufacturing to help them achieve exceptional pattern repetition when using multiple panels. A wide range of edge and corner profiles are also available for a perfect finish. “As part of our continued efforts to provide
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market leading support to the kitchen design industry, we also launched Rewards for You, a new incentive scheme to recognise customer loyalty and offer kitchen designers with ongoing support with their projects. Users of the platform
t’s been a fast-paced quarter, with various product launches and the start
can claim points against their purchases to redeem prizes, which range from chocolate hampers, through to electronic items including smart watches, and even overseas trips. “But undoubtedly, the most significant and
exciting part of Q1 has been the launch of our first-ever own-brand collection of storage solutions, Utensio.”
Utensio Utensio is designed to blend style and elegance with intelligent, thoughtful functionality. The range features larder pull-outs, corner and base storage and the UK’s largest integrated bin solution. It is the result of decades of understanding
consumer needs and the technical intricacies of high-performance storage systems. Each element of Utensio has been crafted by designers who know the latest trends and are committed to delivering sleek and stylish solutions, but who also intimately understand the practical demands of everyday living, multigenerational living needs and the UK KBB market. All Utensio interior storage solutions are
designed to fit a 490mm deep kitchen cabinet, meaning they’re compatible with most cabinets on the market – making them ideal for both new
projects and retrofits. The entire Utensio range is also highly customisable, with three stylish finishes – Folded, Accent, and Glass – which allows customers to match their storage solutions to their kitchen’s aesthetic and price point. Rachel explains: “It was important to us that
Utensio became something installers could easily adopt, and be confident of an easy, efficient, mistake-free install. To achieve this, every solution in the Utensio range comes with a fitting kit featuring clear-to-follow, picture-led installation instructions, templates, jigs and the required fittings as standard. They eliminate the need for measuring and narrow the margin of error to almost zero, offering significant efficiency and accuracy benefits.” As the kitchen and bathroom industry navigates
economic uncertainties, Hafele is stepping up to help customers build resilience and prepare for anticipated market recovery later this year. “Our support focuses on four areas: stock and
speed of supply, support services, range expansion and product innovation to aid differentiation,” explains Rachel. “Over the past 12 months, we’ve made strategic decisions in those four areas of our business to support our customers in building resilience in theirs. For example, we’ve increased our stock holding to support customers who need availability on demand and have also invested into our supply chain infrastructure to increase speed and agility. We’re cautiously optimistic for a recovery through 2025 and are doing all we can to help our partners prepare for an upturn.” The company is also excited to be returning to
the InstallerSHOW for a second year – especially considering its increased focus on kitchens and bathrooms, and how the items that make up these spaces must translate to meet the needs of installers. “We’ll be demonstrating how our range of
lighting, decorative splashbacks, drawers, handles, and more can be used in collaboration to bring kitchen designs to life, with a functional example on offer for attendees to explore. We’ll also be showcasing a wealth of new product innovations – like Utensio – both on stand and as part of one of the exhibition’s mostly highly anticipated interactive installations, the HAUS, with a key focus on the steps we’ve taken to make installation as simple as possible.”
34 BKU MAY 2025
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