Speaking exclusively to kbbreview, Magnet CEO Sophie Rose believes national kitchen retailers can play a major role in supporting the wider industry, and has said the retail giant can be “a constructive voice on the future of the sector”.
As part of Rose’s first interview since taking over as head of Magnet, when asked what role the national kitchen retailers can play in supporting the industry, she answered: “We’re a specialist kitchen provider, and we have been operating in this market for over a century. So we’ve got that national scale. We’ve got the deep expertise, and I believe we have a real opportunity to play a leading role in supporting the wider kitchen sector.”
When asked what that support could look like, Rose explained: “For me, it is about raising standards in areas that matter most, investing in skills and training, supporting consistently high-quality products, installation and service, and building strong collaborative partnerships with suppliers to really support the sector.
“And that includes the wider responsibilities that we all share as an industry: sustainability and responsible sourcing, through to the role we can all play in supporting the communities that we operate in.”
Rose pointed to Magnet’s work with the charity Mears Foundation, in supporting its mission to improve the lives of vulnerable people across the UK. The Magnet head also said the retail giant is “actively looking” at how it can strengthen its wider sustainability and social impact work over the next year.
She continued: “I do think there’s an important role for Magnet in being part of that wider kitchen industry conversation on shared challenges, whether that’s through closer links to industry bodies, shared work on skills, simply being a constructive voice on the future of the sector. It’s just so important – We are real believers that ultimately the kitchen industry is at its best when we all focus on what builds that long-term trust with customers.”
Addressing the company’s strategy for the rest of the year, Rose also said that Magnet plans to continue with its three-year strategy for growth. She explained: “A big part of our turnaround over the last 12 to 18 months has actually come from a much stronger commercial focus, and that’s all about building consistency across our network and a more disciplined approach to performance across the business.
“I think we’re very clear on what drives sustainable profitability and we have stayed focused on, executing those basics very well. We have seen the biggest shift in our overall performance has been the improvement in store profitability, and over the last year, our profit has improved significantly as we’ve really doubled down in some of these areas.”
Rose took up the reins at Magnet following the departure of her predecessor, George Dymond, in October of 2025.
You can hear the full exclusive interview with Sophie Rose on an upcoming episode of The kbbreview Podcast