How’s business been over the last 12 months?

Richard: The current economic environment is definitely a challenging and unpredictable one. However, by staying focused on what our customers want, we saw an improved picture in the first half of 2025.  We believe those market dynamics will remain for the rest of the year, however, we’re cautiously optimistic.

Similarly, that tone seems to resonate with both our customers and suppliers alike. So we are working hard, and hope to continue the positive trajectory to finish the year.

What would you say sets Häfele apart from other suppliers?

Richard: We have a history of innovation and unrivalled customer service, and that pretty much rings as true today as it did 100 years ago. We definitely see ourselves as a long-term partner for our customers and clearly we spend a lot of time investing in those partnerships and developing new ones.

We’re not necessarily after the short term win, we’re after the long term value that those relationships can deliver to both parties. In the two and a half years since I’ve been leading the company, I’ve come to realise we are definitely the unrecognised experts in our field. Across the KBB space, we’re experts in a number of different product categories, but I don’t think everyone knows that.

In that case, what’s something you wish more people understood about Häfele?

Richard: We have a huge amount of knowledge, but because we’re such a big company and we have 25,000 SKUs in our product range, no one single customer ever buys every single product. So I think sometimes that that expertise gets lost because we don’t just operate in one niche product environment.

How important is the UK market to Häfele on a global scale? Is there anything that sets us apart?

Rachel: The UK represents one of Häfele’s largest global markets, and as part of the group, and from a digital perspective, we’re very much a front runner within that space and are able to lead the way in what we should be doing. I think there’s something about our market that makes us a little bit quicker or more willing to adopt things – we’re quite a mature market. So companies like ours have to innovate to offer something different to stand out.  

How much of Häfele’s business is made up by independent retailers? 

Richard: We have a good mix of customers across all channels actually, which is a real benefit to us, but the independent retail sector is a super important part of the overall business. For the independent retail business owners, our focus is on meeting their needs in terms of a strong partnership.

And obviously that ranges from marketing, point of sale support, business development support, all the way through to offering the latest trend-led products. And that obviously comes back to the innovation we were just talking about.

Rachel: Aside from just the business owners, we know that designers are also a really big influence on what that business sells to their customers. So we have to be supporting them and giving them a helping hand with things like inspiration and trend sites.

That also means making sure we have a range of products that suit different budgets, and we know we can deliver when it comes to our product availability, too.

So what’s next for Häfele?

Rachel: Over the last 18 months, we’ve launched a lot of new products and a lot of new services, and I think that puts us in really good stead as we move through the rest of the year – and certainly into 2026. But as always, there is a lot more to do as well.

We’ve already discussed how not everybody knows everything that we do, so our focus is about really continuing to strengthen that understanding. And that’s about our product range, about our own brand, our own manufactured products, as well as our key brand partners. But also, like Richard says, ultimately, we’re the unrecognised experts in our field. And we need to promote that for the benefit of everybody. Not just us, but for the benefit of our customers as well. But one big thing, certainly for me, is going to be prepping for the KBB show.

That’s such a big opportunity for us to connect face-to-face with customers and suppliers, and of course there’ll definitely be some new and exciting news to come from us at the show.