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Words: Richard Curtis, managing director of Häfele UK

The economic environment in 2025 was a challenging and unpredictable one, but we’re cautiously optimistic about what the next year has in store. 

To ensure studios can maximise opportunities for growth as the market starts to improve, strong partnerships will become increasingly valuable. Companies that can provide the holistic product and services needed to support these partnerships will help studios save time, costs, and ultimately improve their profitability.

At Häfele UK, we’re always looking at ways to improve the way we work with our customers, acting as an extra pair of hands in their team so projects are delivered to the highest standards. Our Häfele branded solutions provide amazing value for money across a wide range of categories, but we also focus on our own professional partnerships too. We work with market leading brands such as Samsung, Vauth Sagel, Grass, Hawa and more, to offer the most extensive proposition on the market, giving designers choice across all price brackets to suit their customers’ needs. 

We recognise that competition for work is fierce, and for those with busy schedules, utilising third-party services to achieve  efficiencies helps to boost capacity and capability in 2026. 

Our Service+ range includes planning tools and access to our technical experts, alongside options to order bespoke manufactured products as well as furniture and fixtures that arrive pre-assembled, saving valuable time at every stage of a design project. We also offer many self-service tools, like our new lighting configurator, that can be used around the clock to fit around a studio’s busy schedule. 

We continually innovate to offer designers and customers new solutions to help differentiate their offer while also simplifying their day-to-day roles, freeing up resources to focus on generating new business. 

As we go into 2026, independent businesses will need more support than ever to navigate the changing market, but it’s important that support doesn’t come at a cost to them. At  Häfele UK, our scale allows us to constantly explore what we can do to provide more, without asking for more. 

From marketing and POS support, through to onsite training and workshops at our academy in Rugby, we aim to provide studios with everything they need to secure more business. 

Recently, we’ve partnered with two of the industry’s most established CAD platforms, ArtiCAD and WinnerFlex, so kitchen designers can access more of our product range – including appliances from Samsung and Smeg – in their designs. We’ve also launched Rewards for You, an incentive scheme where customers can claim points against their purchases to redeem prizes. The platform also acts as an information hub for users to find out more about our news, product ranges and support services, as well as giving them the opportunity to feedback to us on key market trends. 

When it comes to what homeowners will be looking for in 2026, research indicates a trend towards higher specification kitchens. 

Perhaps driven by the Instagram-era we live in, customers are increasingly wanting to pack more features, functionality and innovative solutions into the space they have. As such, it will pay for studios to team up with suppliers that can offer them that edge. 

For example, Samsung’s Bespoke AI appliance range can create more connected and care-free lifestyles, while our new Utensio storage range blends style, elegance and intelligence to help maximise cabinet capacity with a beautiful-looking solution. Integrated lighting will continue to take kitchen designs to the next level, while providing consistent design features – such as having drawers, hinges, runners and more in the same gunmetal finish – will add a touch of class. 

We’re proud that Häfele can provide solutions across all categories and price points to give designers the products and tools they need to inspire customers, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the market helps shape those relationships in 2026