Bulthaup specialist Kitchen Architecture has just walked away with the Master Retailer Award for Kitchens at this year's kbbreview Industry Awards. Tim Wallace met owner Rob Gelling...

It's not every showroom we go to where Heston Blumenthal suddenly strolls in but that's exactly what happens halfway through my interview with Rob Gelling (pictured below) at Kitchen Architecture in Putney.

Then again, this is hardly turning out to be a routine visit. Where other stores can be decidedly lacking in atmosphere, this one is positively buzzing with activity. On one side of the store it's all big lamps and tripods as a major photo shoot gets under way, while on the other a cooking demonstration unfortunately sets off the fire alarm, forcing me back onto the street. 

While Gelling hastily turns all the extractors to 11, someone goes off to sort things out. Then, as the smoke clears and calm is finally restored, Blumenthal walks in and comes over to say hello. He's here for the photo shoot apparently, something to do with a new meat probe. But as Gelling later explains, he's become a staunch advocate of the Bulthaup philosophy and it's a measure of the company's growing stature that they've apparently helped fit out some of the kitchen areas at his restaurant, the Fat Duck, up in Buckinghamshire. 

Despite the temporary hiatus, it's not hard to see why Kitchen Architecture carried off the Master Retailer gong at this year's kbbreview Industry Awards. The showroom itself is immaculately presented, turnover has increased by 20% over the past year and the overall strategy seems heavily focused on keeping the customer satisfied, whatever the cost. 

The Putney store is an offshoot of an established Oxford-based business which launched in 2002. Just over a year old, it's allowed them to grow their London client base and apparently tap into a younger slice of the market. Formerly a supermarket, Gelling admits the whole place was "minging" when they took it over with food left crammed in the fridges. It's cost them around £500,000 to put things right and give it that distinctive Bulthaup look. 

"Everyone in the industry thought I was bonkers to open in a recession," Gelling laughs. "But I had a showroom in Oxford of 800sq ft and I had 13 staff working there. We were doing the business but we needed a new market-place. Serving London from Oxford was difficult. It was a breath of fresh air to have a showpiece to invite clients to." 

The business is jointly owned by Gelling and wife Jennifer while his sister Judith does the marketing. I'm also introduced to other staff as we tour the showroom, packed tightly into an area at the back. It all seems a bit claustrophobic but it's refreshing to note that they're all from a genuine design background.

Defensive

Bulthaup suppliers always defend the brand's design principles fiercely and Gelling is no exception. When I ask him which other kitchen manufacturers he admires, there's a very long pause. 

"The Warendorf Starck kitchen has been well publicised but then I saw it at the KBB show and was extremely disappointed," he says. "It's the total opposite of what we try to do. It's bling, bling and more bling. It was ridiculous. Where was the design in that? There were twirly decorative things on there that surely aren't the way design is going. You want a good honest product that's going to last, especially in these eco-aware times." 

It's a damning assessment, but highlights the differences between Bulthaup and its more adventurous and individualist contemporaries. To some, the brand is seen as too cold, too sterile, too Germanic, but Gelling is quick to counter these accusations. "It's all about designing your showroom to suit your market-place," he says. "We wanted to challenge the preconceived ideas and make it warm and inviting, so we used the herringbone oak floor and the mix of materials like the olive wood and the smoked oaks with some dark aluminiums to show off the technology."

Downstairs is a different story though, where everything is a dazzling white. "Bulthuap does have a market-place doing London basement extensions in places like Chelsea and Notting Hill and people like that white box feel," Gelling explains, "so down here we've used the polished concrete floors and the white finishes."

Gelling has also designed a living space area and suspended an eye-catching fire from French specialist Focus from the upper ceiling. The company also supplies a full range of furniture from Danish manufacturer Carl Hansen. On the appliance side it's a familiar mix of Siemens, Miele, Gaggenau and Wolf, but I'm also shown some interesting new products from Irinox which Gelling describes as the "the appliances of the future". In particular, he enthuses over a blast chiller and shock freezer, which allows food to be stored for much longer than most appliances will currently allow.

Criticism

So how does he respond to suggestions that when people buy a Bulthaup kitchen, that's all they get? Basically a kitchen with no individuality, just a corporate branding exercise. "You only have to walk in to realise that's not true," he says. "Bulthaup has a corporate identity and you have to conform to that. But at the same time people buy from people and you have to put your own edge on it. Bulthaup is our product but Kitchen Architecture is how we do it and that's what people buy. 

"Bulthaup is the biggest innovator in the kitchen industry," he insists. "All the bespoke manufacturers use the same argument - that they can make anything you want. But that's a dangerous market to be in as well. We've got products that are tried and tested and I know they're going to work for the long term. If you have a good modular system the possibilities are infinite. There's a lot to be said for knowing your kitchen will be as good as the one on display." 

They may be this year's Master Retailer, but the key to the company's success doesn't seem tied to a complex business strategy; it's actually very straightforward. Naturally they have three-year and five-year plans but these are flexible and can be adapted as the market changes. 

"We try to ensure happy clients," Gelling says. "It's not just about having good sales people. It's having good project managers, good back-up design, good installers and a good accounts team. My wife is the accountant, she runs a tight ship."I hope what came through to the judges was our service and our knowledge. I was concerned that they'd think that because we sell a high-end product we're laughing, but Alternative Plans and Smallbone have shown that's not always so.

"He admits the staff had to work a lot harder last year and that average order value fell. However, he puts this down to the addition of the less expensive b1 range into the showroom to cater for their younger clients. 

"We sold more kitchens but for less value," he says. "b1 is an easier sell. I'd like to have seen them work a bit harder with our core b3 product but we sold more kitchens than ever before. Our average order value was down by 20% but our turnover grew by the same figure. At the end of 2009 it was £3.6m. The aim is to double that by 2012 which is a challenge in this market. Gelling is a loyal disciple of the Bulthaup brand and seems unlikely to switch any time soon. 

"In the early part of the past decade the Italians had the edge on the visual aspect of kitchens, people like Boffi and Minotti" he admits. "Boffi did very well to build a brand through Alternative Plans and I think they're of a similar standing to Bulthaup. But for tolerances, function and durability you can't beat Bulthaup and if you could, we'd be retailing it."

ROB GELLING ON...

...Design

We start by making the space as sociable as possible, then play around with the shapes and get the flow right. Function follows form. We grew up on the old Bauhaus training of form follows function but people buy on looks these days.

...Smallbone

I was quite surprised that Smallbone got into trouble so quickly. How on earth after six months does it all go pear-shaped? If they were making sales, which I believe they were, the problem had to be with the way it was run.

...Displays

It's amazing, even the architects will buy what you have on display. Bulthaup wants it to be this stark corporate statement with one central island down the middle with loads of space round it to show off the architecture. That's fine but at the end of the day you need to show a certain amount of product.

...Service

We genuinely really try to focus on keeping the client happy. Mistakes happen but put it right efficiently. 

...Training

If you can't add value customers may as well just go to Ikea and get boxes off the shelves. It has to be design-led. That's not happening enough even at the top end. Retailers are designing the whole living space, not just a kitchen. That takes training. Kitchen design needs to be much more of a profession. We have the best designers in Europe. 

...Charging for design

We don't charge; we want to be as approachable as possible. A lot of people would be put off by an initial charge. Architects are different, they don't sell products. Until the industry gets some training in place, it would be difficult to charge, because the industry is not seen as professional enough.