Following recent news that KCM Kitchens had entered liquidation, managing director Dale Williams has told kbbreview that his deal to produce Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s first-ever kitchen range will still be upheld.
Speaking exclusively to kbbreview, Williams said that the current plan is for the Quintessential kitchen range to be produced by a select group of two to three already well-established manufacturers instead of by his own manufacturing company.
Williams said that his other business, KBB Partnerships Ltd, owns the licensing rights to the kitchens —along with Llewelyn-Bowen— and will now instead oversee the range’s production by a network of UK and Ireland manufacturers.
Williams confirmed that he was in the final stages of agreeing deals with several well-established manufacturers, but did not name the companies specifically.
“We at KBB Partnerships will become essentially a ‘champion of the brand’,” he explained, “That means policing all aspects of it, from making sure the manufacturers are doing their part to ensuring the retailers have the training needed to sell the kitchens.”
Kbbreview first reported on KCM’s deal to produce Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s Quintessential kitchen range in June of this year. At the time, KCM Kitchens said it was looking to secure partnerships with independent retailers across the UK and aiming for a retail launch in Q4 of this year.
Williams said over 20 retailers have already expressed interest in the Quintessential Kitchens products. He plans to have five to ten independent retail showrooms display the products in time for January 2025, when Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will take part in a national roadshow to visit the retailers.
Reflected on what led to KCM’s liquidation, Williams said: “Looking at my journey, going from setting up a market stall in Cornwall on my own, to building a retail business with four retail stores and a factory – perhaps I did take on too much at one time. But I don’t see what has happened as a failure. It’s been a learning experience, but you must dust yourself off and keep going.”
“This is essentially freeing my team’s time up to focus on what we’re really good at, which is product development, brand creation, and partnership building—letting the manufacturers do what they’re good at, which is making kitchens.”
Williams expressed optimism about the future of the partnership with Llewelyn-Bowen, pointing out that the design legend was especially interested in working with independent kitchen retailers.
He said: “He’s been offered a lot of money from nationals to put his name on a collection, but he chose to work with us, partly because he’s passionate about creating something that’s truly his, but also because he’s passionate about working with independent showrooms.”
This echoes Llewelyn-Bowen’s comments from when the kitchen range was first announced earlier this year. At the time, he said: “I knew that the perfect way to introduce the Quintessential concept to the customer was through a highly successful and extremely energetic partnership with independent kitchen retailers. The big-name chains simply don’t have the knowledge, respect, or design credibility to work with me to give the customer the kitchen they’ve always dreamed of.”