Trade kitchens giant Howdens has reopened its Portsmouth depot, with the occasion being marked by a special appearance by former football player and TV presenter Chris Kamara.
The depot was temporarily closed to allow the space to be refurbished, but the site is now able to provide a higher number of kitchen displays, as well as increase its stockholding.
Following its refurbishment, the Portsmouth depot now has 12 full kitchen sets on display, as well as three dedicated design rooms, which allow tradespeople to work with both homeowners and Howdens designers on kitchen projects.
Aside from just helping with the opening event of the Portsmouth site, Kamara is also working with the national retailer as part of its Game Changer Programme, which helps supply new kitchens to grassroots kitchen clubs across the UK.
While in Portsmouth for the opening of the depot, Kamara also unveiled the first Howdens Game Changer Kitchen, which was supplied to Hawks Community Youth Football Club.
Howdens head of trade property Mark Churchill said: “Having football legend Chris Kamara officially open our new revamped Portsmouth depot is fantastic, and I know that staff and customers really enjoyed the day.
“We are continually looking at ways to improve our depots for our trade customers and homeowners to provide a better experience. It is important that tradespeople can visualise what their kitchens could look like, as well as experience the many different features we offer with expert help on hand. Our new depot format delivers on this, as well as providing faster delivery on designs and stock.”
Following the reopening of its Portsmouth depot, Howdens says it is planning to refurbish more than 90 of its other depots before the end of the year.
Last month, Howdens chief executive Andrew Livingston said that he estimated the kitchen market is down by “somewhere between 10% and 15% in volume” in the first half of 2023.