The Nobilia-backed kitchen franchise chain Kütchenhaus had its own stand at the kbb show for the first time ever and revealed its ambitious target for 300 stores.
Taking exclusively to kbbreview on the Kütchenhaus stand at the kbb Birmingham show, sales and operations manager Gary Ward said his goal was to have 100 stores by 2023, rising to 300 over the next 10 years.
He said: “We aim [to open] around six every quarter. Ultimately, within the next 10 years, we want to have 300 stores. The growth won’t stop. I would say that already we are probably the biggest kitchen franchise in the UK. We are making waves in the industry and people are coming to us knowing who we are, whereas three years ago I don’t think we were really known. More and more people are coming to us now.”
The franchise recently opened its 50th store, in Potters Bar, London, and Ward revealed that Kütchenhaus currently has 15-16 new franchisees at the stage of having found suitable locations and properties. He said they had spoken to around 18 to 20 potential new franchisees at the show.
Ward added: “We have advanced really, really well as a business. We opened our 50th store this year and Nobilia have supported us all the way and shared the stand [at kbb] with us. It is a massive step for Kütchenhaus.”
Ward elaborated on the benefits potential franchisees can expect: “We have a fairly unique way of doing our franchise. There is no upfront payment to us for it. Obviously, they need to buy their kitchens, but they don’t pay Kütchenhaus anything. Which I think gives people a chance to go it on their own. For a successful designer, they may be thinking that they are earning money for other people, so why can’t they do it for themselves. They are the kind of people who are looking at this. Then you have the entrepreneurs who have money to invest in a business and we help them recruit their kitchen designers.”
Kütchenhaus will help new franchisees find a location, a suitable property, help with negotiations with landlords, help sort out finance and provide assistance with staff recruitment
Ward concluded: “What is almost unique is that we are like franchise partners. It is their business and their decision, but we will advise them. We try to facilitate everything they need and will hold their hand every step of the way. When they are negotiating with their landlord over the lease, we will advise them what to say and what to do. We will also provide landlords with testimonials saying who we are and what we do.”
And, according to Ward, the UK consumers’ appetite for German kitchens shows no sign of diminishing.
He said: “We have positioned ourselves well in the market in the mid-to-high range, but with the Nobilia product you can produce a kitchen from £5,000 to £50,000. You are covering all the bases.”