Sponsored by Alku.
The day-to-day lives of independent KBB retailers are busy, complicated and full of twists and turns. Each one has a fascinating narrative and we want to tell those stories in new and unique ways – so we’re very excited to introduce our three new Adopted Retailers.
Each are at the start of a new journey and over the next 12 months we’ll be following their progress through the highs and lows of running a small business including everything from showrooms, finances, and recruitment, to supply, design, and expansion – and, of course, how that all fits in with busy family lives.
Having previously featured Muswell Hill’s Point 5 Kitchens and Harrison James in Shropshire, we’re pleased to introduce The Leamington Kitchen Company – our third and final adopted retailer.
The Leamington Kitchen Company
Amanda and Tom Raine are putting their two decades of experience in interior design, construction management and retail buying into a business of their own, offering handmade wooden kitchens for less…
They say that some things are just meant to be. And, when you meet Amanda and Tom Raine, you can’t help but think that of their story.
If their new business, The Leamington Kitchen Company in Leamington Spa, has as much staying power as the couple’s own relationship, then they are surely onto a good thing.
Amanda and Tom, aged 39 and 41 respectively, have been married for 12 years but are childhood sweethearts, having met in their late teens. Their relationship even survived long distance when Amanda went off to Brighton University to study business and marketing and Tom, who went to Nottingham to study construction management.
Amanda went on to carve out a successful career in marketing in the KBB sector, while Tom’s career also flourished.
“I ended up at AkzoNobel after university and that’s really how I got into the KBB industry and where my passion for interior design really started to take hold,” Amanda explains. “I earned a degree in business and marketing and went down that route initially. In a number of the roles I’ve held, I’ve also been heavily involved in product and category management, so I’ve also learnt all about the hard aspects of buying; the negotiation and working with suppliers to get good deals and terms which I hope is a good starting point for starting a business.”
On one hand, you have Amanda with the business acumen, product and industry knowledge and creative flair, and on the other you have Tom the one with practical skills and expertise in project management which seems like a pretty strong basis on which to build a kitchen showroom.
Their skillsets certainly seem to complement each other’s perfectly but what specifically made them turn their backs on the corporate world to start their own kitchen retail business?
“The idea came when we were designing our own kitchen for our house here in Leamington five years ago,” Amanda explains. “We couldn’t find anywhere that could give us exactly what we wanted on our budget. At the time we said, ‘one day, we’re going to set up a showroom of our own’.
“Then last year, we had the opportunity to really go for it. We were like, it’s now or never. We wanted a better work/life balance and to be around for the kids more, so we went for it!”
You’ll hear about the intricacies of the business itself in more detail in the next issue, but the main premise of The Leamington Kitchen Company is to offer stylish, solid wood, traditional in frame kitchens at a more affordable price than some of the well-known brands.
Considering that a huge element of their decision to ditch the nine-five and start their own business was to be around for their children more, Leamington Spa was always going to be the location for their showroom. But, as luck would have it, the town also happens to be a thriving hub for retail too, particularly small, independently run stores.
The walk to the showroom alone, takes you past a number of independent businesses, many of which specialise in interiors.
“We’ve made a really conscious effort to source as many of the products locally as we could as well,” Tom explains. “We see this as an important aspect of the business story too. We’re a local family trying to build a business and we’re keen to work with other likeminded businesses so that we can all benefit from each other.”
Photography: www.karenmasseyphotography.co.uk