
Franchises: The sum of its parts
Why does the kitchen and bathroom retail sector suddenly seem to be in a frenzy of franchising? And where does it end?
In June this year, High Street kitchen stalwart Magnet announced that, in the leafy, affluent calm of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, it was planning on opening its first franchised store.
The company billed it as a “significant milestone in Magnet’s growth journey’” and while it is certainly significant, many would describe it more of a complete change of destination than a journey.
In the same month, parent company Nobia announced plans to close “underperforming” stores in the UK as part of an ongoing cost-cutting exercise that would see nearly 20% of its British workforce made redundant.
Even though you have a lot of support and a business structure to work in, it’s like any business. To be successful, it’s going to take a lot of hard work.
Imran Azam // Ripples Wokingham and BeaconsfieldThe closures, Magnet says, are part of its transition to “an asset-light model in the UK” and you can see, given current performance, why they would think it was worth the U-turn to franchising in their journey.
There’s no question that the KBB market, in particular kitchens, is currently in the middle of a renewed interest in franchising and it’s being driven by the seemingly unstoppable growth of one company – the Nobilia-owned Kutchenhaus.
While distinguishing between Nobia and Nobilia has always been a proof-reader’s nightmare, the contrast between the two could not be more pronounced when it comes to the UK High Street. Magnet still comes top in terms of number of showrooms – nearly 200 versus nearly 90 – but one is tactically shrinking while the other is rapidly growing. One is currently asset-heavy and the other asset-light…
Of course, franchising is not a new concept to the KBB sector but with the success of Kutchenhaus driving new offerings from Magnet and German-kitchen brand Nolte in May this year there is, without question, a significant and increasing momentum.
Add this to existing franchises such as Ripples, Dream Doors, Kesseler and many others and the definition of ‘independent KBB retailer’ perhaps needs to be expanded and adapted.

So why is this business model suddenly looking so attractive? Is it an inevitable sign of the times or is there more to it?
“If the product or service is in demand, brands can grow rapidly using the franchising format,” explains Pip Wilkins, CEO of the British Franchise Association (BFA). “As each new franchisee is putting liquid capital into the brand, the franchisor doesn’t have to find large amounts of cash to grow across the country.
“Franchises are also much quicker to open as the launch model is tried and tested meaning the new franchisee can be up and running in a much shorter time than traditional business models.”
Benefits
One of the KBB industry’s longest-running franchise operations is Ripples. It opened a pilot franchise showroom in Bristol almost 30 years ago and now has 20 franchise showrooms all centered within the triangle formed by Truro in Cornwall, Southport in Lancashire, and Chelmsford in Essex.
“Historically speaking, franchise interest has grown during economic downturns and this is typically associated with individuals wanting to take their future into their own hands,” says MD Paul Crow. “According to Natwest, around 97% of franchises have reported a profit for more than 20 consecutive years and the sector now provides jobs for over 620,000 people spread over 48,000 franchise business units in the UK alone.”
Going down the franchise route gave us the opportunity to expand without inward investment in warehousing and deliveries.
Trevor Scott, CEO RFK in Rugby is also the co-owner of Kutchenhaus Market HarboroughFor clarity, franchising is – as defined by the BFA – a business relationship between two parties. The franchiser owns the brand and business system and the franchisee, via a franchise agreement, can trade under the brand.
The benefits of franchising for brands is quite straightforward, the model allows for relatively fast and easy growth and expansion of a brand without the need for 100% investment in real estate.
“The obvious benefit to developing a franchise operation is that, as a business, we don’t have that big capital expenditure,” says Liz Hall, retail, and franchise director for Nolte. “It costs a lot of money to open a showroom and so by sharing the costs with a franchisee, you can scale much more quickly, and everyone benefits from that growth.”
But what about franchisees? Why would someone looking to start their own KBB business choose this path rather than going down the independent route? Does franchising allow entrepreneurs the freedom they want to run their own business?
The franchiser pitch is that it gives wannabe small business owners a model they know works. They get access to collective buying power, a like minded community and the tools they need to run the business, such as training and marketing. This all makes it relatively simple for new, small business investors to enter the industry.
“Franchises provide a safer investment for new KBB businesses,” explains Nick Dolling, franchise sales and operations manager for Kesseler. “It’s a lower risk route to kitchen business ownership.”
This ‘tried-and-tested’ idea is a big part of the sell, the franchiser will have spent years and potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds, honing the model until it is literally a business in a box.
Retailer perspective
That’s the view from the franchiser, but what about the people at the coalface? What’s it really like to be the owner of a franchise business?
“Being part of the franchise opens doors to different, and stronger, supplier relationships than I would experience as a stand-alone business,” explains Sarah Maguire, the owner of the Raison Home franchise in Edinburgh. “With these elements taken care of by the franchise, I can focus on serving my customers well and growing my business.”

Graeme Ashton, owner of the Edinburgh franchise of The Kitchen Depot, adds “Building a brand in a competitive market can be extremely difficult unless you have a big marketing budget and are skilled in lead generation.
“Going down the franchise route gives you the advantage of buying into an already established brand which means there’s a shared responsibility to get it right for a customer and, if there is an issue, you have the support to fix it.”
After decades working in the kitchen industry and holding senior roles at national retailers such as Wickes, Benchmarx and Magnet, in 2017 Kenny Devlin and Ben Thornton left the corporate world behind to open an independent kitchen business, Lime Designs in Dorking, Surrey. Earlier this year, as part of their growth plan, they are the ones who opened that first Magnet Concept Studio franchise in Kent.
“We’ve built a large network of sub-contracted installation partners through our independent business, Lime Designs,” explains Thornton. “Internally, we’ve also employed building works and project managers to deliver our projects efficiently. This framework is one that we believe stands us in good stead to diversify and sensibly expand our showroom portfolio via the franchise route into multiple towns and targeted locations.”
While many of the KBB franchise models in the UK don’t even require franchisees to have any previous kitchen or bathroom experience, all of the brands we spoke to said that they only consider people who are enthusiastic and focused on running a successful business.
“Brands understand that to develop successfully they need to be partnered with someone who has the interest and dedication to their investment and involvement within the day-to-day of the business,” says Jean Michel Peragine, country manager for Schmidt. “This has always been our goal since launching our exclusive Schmidt brand policy in 1989.”

The Kitchen Depot franchise director, Graham Bucktrout adds: “What makes a great franchise is the person, their drive, and values. We are looking to build our franchise coverage significantly over the next few years, but rather than setting volume targets our model is simply driven by finding the right people.”
That said, with any business, it doesn’t matter how much support you get, as the owner, you’ll only ever get out of it what you put in.
“We look for people who have a passion for interior design, people, and business,” says Mark Sewell, business, and partnership development at Raison Home UK. “Some of our best franchisees are not from a KBB background. Like any business, it only works if people put effort into it. One franchisee in France achieved €1.5 million worth of sales in 2021, and this person operates alone. With the correct attitude and hard work anything is possible.”
James Casey, MD of the Kesseler Kitchens franchise in Sudbury agrees: “Franchising takes a lot of the risk away because a lot of the hard work has been done for you. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of hard work to be done thereafter, but you’re not going into it completely blind or naive.
“You’ve got someone helping and guiding you to find the right showroom, the right staff, what kind of investment you need to make the business work, and so on.”
Downsides
Clearly there are lots of obvious reasons why, as someone starting a small business, you’d opt to go down the franchise route, but what about the downsides?
There’s no question that a franchisee does give up some autonomy when taking a brand on, whoever they are and past a certain size all franchisers are going to find it hard to maintain quality and consistency.
“This won’t be the case for a lot of franchisees but, as someone who’s been running their own independent kitchen business for decades, having to commit to the structure of a franchise business feels a little like trying to teach an old dog new tricks,” says Trevor Scott, who co-owns Kutchenhaus market Harborough. “But I guess it’s just looking at things from a different perspective, perhaps. And it’s a learning curve.”
Franchising takes a lot of the risk away. You’ve got someone helping and guiding you to find the right showroom, the right staff, and what kind of investment you need to make the business work.
James Casey // Kesseler SudburyImran Azam, who operates Ripples stores in Wokingham and Beaconsfield says: “I feel like the disadvantages depend on expectations. As a new franchisee, what are you looking for from running your own business? Even though you have a lot of support and a business structure to work in, it’s like any business, to be successful, it’s going to take a lot of hard work.”
So, are the developments in KBB franchising just a sign of the times or is this the future of KBB retailing as we know it?
“The franchise industry sees an upturn in interest during a tough economic climate where those with an entrepreneurial spirit turn to becoming their own boss for financial security,” explains Will Frankling, the CEO and founder of the Kitchen Makeovers franchise. “When the reality of becoming your own boss hits, people often turn to the safety of a proven business model and find the numerous franchise opportunities available. You can be the master of your own destiny but take as much or as little support you need from your franchisor.”
With all of these ambitious growth plans and developments, is it reasonable to expect franchise models to completely disrupt how KBB retailing looks in the next few years?
Wilkins of the BFA says: “With BFA member brands such as Dream Doors, Granite Transformations, The Kitchen Depot and Raison Homes all faring well, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an increase in franchise models in the KBB sector over the coming years.”
Kesseler’s Dolling adds: “There will always be room for fantastic independent kitchen studios around the country, but I definitely think that for people wanting to get into the industry or who are looking to start out their own showroom, then the franchise model is ideal because they can benefit from a huge support network, proven marketing strategy, proven sales process and the gravitas of an established brand.”
While it’s clear that franchising offers huge benefits to both franchiser and franchisee and that this business structure will continue to play a prominent role in the KBB industry’s future, it’s not going to be for everyone.
Therefore, it is unlikely to completely replace independent showrooms but rather compliment them, creating more choice for consumers.