Editor Andrew Davies asks a difficult question: just why would anyone want to be a KBB retailer?

I've been talking to a lot of retailers lately about just whether the market is, or isn't, showing signs of recovery. There isn't unfortunately, a particularly definitive answer and rather a very mixed bag of stories coming through.

Sure, there will always be those who say they've never had a better year and don't know what the fuss is about, and likewise there are those will always give a dour and pessimistic answer even if customers were outside the showroom posting £50 notes through the letterbox for eight hours a day.

If there are conclusions to come to at the moment I think it's that the opinions of the retailer reflect the relative strengths of the individual business and geography rather than any identifiable market trend as a whole. In other words, if you run your business well and always have then you're probably doing ok.

But one retailer did ask a question that really made me sit down and think - just why would anyone want to become a KBB retailer in the first place?

"It requires a huge investment in fixed assets to get started," he said. "It's full of discontinuations, everyone is out to undercut you and it can be very de-moralising. 

"We are wondering how many KBB owners there are out there feeling very trapped in their business because it is not providing them with a satisfactory income, yet they can't sell up as they're not that easy to offload reasonably quickly. The only way forward for many is to plod on which kills the morale of the business owner but also the staff."

I must point out that this is a) a successful retailer whose business is doing fine and b) someone deliberately taking the most pessimistic position to make a wider point.

But the 'why would anyone want to get involved in the first place' is a very interesting question.

Those who chose to be, or already are, retailers, of course, come from many different disciplines and motivations, each of which brings it's rewards and potential mantraps.

For instance, you have the designer who wants to have their own business in order to give their creativity full range  - but this is akin to a good chef opening a restaurant, good food doesn't mean good profits.

Next is the installer or cabinetmaker seeing retail as the natural step up from their existing business - but technical skills don't mean necessarily instantly mean good design and customer service.

How about the entrepreneurs tempted by seemingly high value sales? Surely it's better to sell expensive things every now and again rather than rely on small value sales every hour. Which would you rather sell, one kitchen a week or 500 Mars Bars a day? - As we all know though, high ticket price doesn't mean high profits.

Finally there's those who made a lot of money in the boom times by customers simply coming to them who are now stuck in failing businesses because they don't know where to start when it comes to marketing, advertising, new product etc.

I'm exaggerating for effect too here of course, and 99% of retailers I ever speak to talk about the satisfaction they get from giving people their dream kitchen, bedroom or bathroom and that should never be underestimated. The balance between satisfaction and irritation is what makes any job enjoyable or infuriating.

But can satisfaction make you money? I still think there's a lot of profit to be made in this industry but what retailers are learning post-recession is that they need all round skills rather than just those in design or installation. 

They need to be canny retailers, regardless of the product, and learn as much as possible about websites, mail outs, customer service, sales techniques, showroom design, managing suppliers and everything else. Most of the time, the kitchens and bathroom take care of themselves, it's all the other stuff that trips people up.

So why do you do it? What are the highs that outweigh the lows?