BEST OF GERMAN Richard Curtis
Häfele
BKU’s Matt Broughton spoke to Richard Curtis, Managing Director at Häfele UK.
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his year has seen Häfele UK focus on three key areas: product innovation, face-to-face connections with customers, and ensuring its pricing is as keen as possible to help customers during a challenging time for the economy. Managing Director of Häfele UK - Richard Curtis - explains: “Having exhibited at both KBB and the InstallerSHOW, we’ve been able to meet with thousands of customers to find out more about their projects, inspire them with ideas to create functional, great looking designs, and show them how they can grow their businesses by using our new service provision, Service+. While we’re veterans of KBB, it was our first time attending the InstallerSHOW and we found it a truly engaging event, with the opportunity to introduce ourselves to lots of new faces.
“We launched a new universal connector at the InstallerSHOW, which we see as the ideal problem solver on any building project. Manufactured in our facility in Berlin, the UC 16/64 is a polycarbonate connection device which mixes snap-in studs and clips with a latching nose and screw holes to achieve multiple applications with just one device. As well as connections and joints, it also acts as an assembly aid, cable guide, spacer and floor guide.
“We announced at KBB that we’re now distributors of Bidbury & Co. kitchen taps, a classically-styled range of bridge, bibcock, pull-out rinse and monobloc taps manufactured using high-quality components from the UK and Western Europe. We also expanded our own range of stainless-steel sinks, which includes a range of new undermount, inset and Belfast-styles. “Alongside this, we’ve extended our Matrix drawer range, with the addition of two new ‘slim’ products, designed to maximise capacity and offer universal style and functionality across a range of applications. Our incredibly popular and great value Metalla 310 hinge was released in an on-trend nickel finish to suit a greater number of designs, and we’ve transformed our lighting range to provide a solution for every room in the home with EGLO, a range of affordable luxury pendants, ceiling and wall lights, downlights, bathroom lighting, track lighting and LED ceiling fans.” The rest of 2024 will see yet more product launches. “We’ve recently expanded our range of media and electrical solutions with two new partnerships, making it easier than ever for customers to offer whole-home connectivity in their projects,” says Richard. “We’re now the exclusive distributor of BACHMANN products to the KBB market in the UK, having added an
extensive range of products to our portfolio including integrated and countertop chargers, and decorative power strips. We’re also now offering Rithum, a smart home wall switch which integrates with Zuma, an intelligently paired LED light and a HiFi speaker system, which we began distributing to the UK market earlier this year.” Häfele is also about to launch a new premium appliance from Rayburn, having already expanded its appliance offering with a new partnership with Samsung earlier this year.
To better understand customer trends, Häfele undertakes research with homeowners annually to understand what is driving their buying decisions. Richard explains: “This year, as part of our Homes for Living report, we found an interesting trend towards ‘part grading’. Those who want a new kitchen are increasingly considering replacing just some of the components, such as the frontals of cabinets and drawers, and buying accessories including taps, handles and splashbacks to update the style, rather than invest in a whole kitchen. “Connectivity is also proving to be a lasting and transformative trend. In the kitchen market, smart connectivity is becoming standard in many products, from lighting and sound systems to ovens and dishwashers. Our own proprietary lighting technology, Häfele Connect mesh, which enables smart lighting control, has become a key differentiator for our customers, and as consumers become more knowledgeable about the benefits of AI, they’re always looking for ways to bring greater convenience into their daily lives and to improve energy efficiency.”
Plans for 2025
Everything Häfele does centres on providing its customers with the most innovative, highest quality and widest range of products to solve their problems, all delivered efficiently and supported by the invaluable services it provides as part of Service+. “Bringing all of this together makes it as easy as possible for our customers to take on additional business, and we love being part of that journey,” says Richard.
“Very soon, we’ll be launching something special for our Studio Partners, as well as other kitchen studios and designers, which will help us build further on those important relationships. We’ll also be taking further steps to enhance our lighting provision, proving that to Häfele, lighting is about more than products – lighting is for living.”
36 BKU OCTOBER 2024
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