Small Business of the Year 2013 - The Kitchen Store,
Contact: Alan Margetts, MD [email protected] 01903 52 43 43 Jacky Misson, Director [email protected]
1. What are your principal products or services?
We design and fit beautiful, locally manufactured kitchens.
What is unique about them?

Kitchens manufactured locally in Lancing

Customers can visit the manufacturer to see their kitchen being made

Every kitchen is individually designed and unique to the customer’s needs

Largest independent kitchen showroom in Sussex - customers can see and touch their potential kitchen units in a ‘real
life’ set up
How do you measure their success?

90% of new business is from referrals / recommendations from happy customers

Turnover has increased 8 out of 9 years (Average 13.5% growth in last 4 years)

Added 5 new employees (25%) to the team over last 3 years (in a recession)

Opened an additional store (in Hove) in 2013

Our kitchens carry the Royal Warrant
2. What obstacles have you faced in developing your business and what actions did you need to take to overcome
them?
The recession saw a major contraction in the market. In particular the new housing market which had previously been
generating revenues of approximately £376,000 per year from 2005 – 2009 fell to zero. However, through a targeted focus
on improving customer conversions (from average of 19% up to 42%), and by deciding to launch Manhattan 48 rather than
a new retail store in 2007 we have actually grown turnover and profit throughout the last 3 years. Manhattan 48 is a trade
sister company founded in 2007 which added £200,000 revenue per year from 2007 – 2012 and was sold to fund the new
store in 2013. It had much lower set up costs than a new retail store.
The amount of time our kitchen designers were spending on relatively simple queries arising during and after installations
was restricting the number of customers they could service. This was affecting customer acquisition growth and
profitability. Working with the designers and an external consultant we created a position for a Project Manager to liaise
between customers and suppliers freeing up our designers to spend extra time with new customers. This has lead to
approximately £220,000 additional sales revenue in the last year and will contribute to the additional £800,000 we are on
target for this year.
3. When marketing your business how do you decide on a budget and which channels to use?
Before setting the marketing budget we calculate what % of turnover growth will be met by marketing. We then look at the
following tactics and allocate a target and budget against each:
rd
Customer and 3 party referrals (linked to Customer Satisfaction and Net Promoter Score), Targeted events (new for
Hove), Local advertising, PR, Signage, Twitter (new for Hove), Blogs (new for Hove), web site (rebranded early 2013)
How do you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns?
The ultimate measure of success is higher conversion rates and sales revenue. Attracting more on-profile, ready to buy
customers has increased our conversion rate from 19% to 42% in the last 18 months.
4. What is your approach to the company’s finances in terms of equity, borrowing and the production of
management accounts and who provides your business with advice and expertise in this area?
The 2 main Directors have 100% equity and the business has never had to borrow money as its growth has been entirely
self funded. Management Accounts are produced on a monthly basis and form the first part of monthly board meetings.
We have our own bookkeeper and work with Baker Tilly for professional advice when opening new stores / starting
business ventures / mergers & acquisitions. With the help of Jacky Misson of Rise we are currently looking into whether
we need to recruit a part time FD or Finance Manager.
5. What differentiates your business in the way it looks after its employees, suppliers, customers and wider
community responsibilities?
Employees:

Are asked about and kept informed of company growth and plans and where they fit in. This happens through the
Annual Company Review (overviews for 2012 and 2013 attached), monthly catch ups and ad-hoc.

6 team members who are customer facing have individual monthly reviews and relevant training and support with an
external consultant

Treated as part of the family, not just another employee, take a genuine interest in team members as individuals which
has proven success through our average employee retention rate of 5.5 years
Suppliers:

Treated as part of the team, they know what our expansion plans are, how we are going to try and get there and how
their efforts play a part in that.

Suppliers are predominantly local so we can make sure we see them regularly
Customers:

Always treated as an individual (proven by one-off designs)

Are encouraged to ‘pop in’ to the showrooms, we don’t operate on appointment only and make sure we always have a
designer available to answer questions.

Are encouraged to walk around our manufacturer to see their kitchen actually being made. We have a dedicated
walkway and tour available. Helps them feel more involved in the process.
Wider community:

Benefits through emphasis on local suppliers – local economy growth

This year we are starting to host events at our Hove store for local businesses helping them build a wider network to
do more business locally. First event is on 10 October in our Hove store.
6.
How do you plan the development of your business?
We have monthly board meetings with the two Directors and an external Consultant including a ‘Future strategy’ section.
This helps to ensure long term, strategic growth is not forgotten at the expense of short term ‘fixing’. We also have a
product development and innovation section which has input from the Design Manager and Hove Manager which ensures
we stay current and ahead of the competition.
Our MD is a ‘real’ MD and focuses on company growth and strategy as opposed to working ‘in’ the business.
7. Describe your long and short term plans and explain what steps you will take to reach your goals.
Long term:

To get to £5m turnover by March 2018 – see attached Vision Posters

Goal set on company launch in 2004 for three unbeatable stores in Sussex by Dec 2014 (Currently have 2, we are
rd
currently researching locations for our 3 store)

Wanted to improve showroom in Lancing store, did this in 2011 with 4 times larger showroom and £200k investment

To develop online business into appliance sales – adding another revenue stream
Short term:

To get to £2.6m turnover by March 2014 – see attached Vision Posters

To get a consistent NPS score averaging 9/10 for customer service by end of 2013. We are just starting to measure
this with a simple end of job survey.

Reducing quote production time to 2 hours (currently 3 – 5 hours) - By updating EQ software to enable quicker pricing
will reduce approximately 45 minutes

Reduce sales process time, currently approximately 3 months – By reducing number of design revisions through better
questioning and fact finding from initial meeting
Small Business of the Year 2013 - The Kitchen Store,
Cont.
Please see attached 2 Vision Posters for 2012 and 2013
Additional images are our logo, Hove store and team
Our Vision for THE KITCHEN STORE and Manhattan 48
To have three unbeatable stores in Sussex, selling £3m per year at TKS and
£1m at M48, gaining the recommendation of every customer.
MISSION.
Our aim this year is to reposition the business.
Above all we’re aiming to understand our
customers better and with this knowledge give
them a better experience at every stage. We’ll
rebrand so the way we look makes our customers
feel most at ease with us. We’ll also deliver
efficiencies from the investments we’ve already
made in systems. Finally we’ll make Lancing
standalone ready for our second trading base .
COMPANY OBJECTIVES THIS YEAR.
To achieve TKS sales of a minimum of £1.27m
by 31 March 2013
To achieve M48 sales of a minimum of £200k
by 31 March 2013
To focus on our customer experience – write,
train and implement our customer journey
To invest in and open a new showroom
by 31 March 2013
Priority Projects
Kitchen Design Objectives
Kitchen Additions Objectives
Sales of £870,000
Designers out and about more – more
visible to our customers. To win business
and on live jobs.
Sales of £400,000
Customer focus in complaint handling.
Name
Kitchen
Additions
Kitchen
Design
Manhattan 48
Total
Andrea
-
£50,000
-
£50,000
Cat
-
£320,000
-
£320,000
Emily
£185,000
-
£30,000
£215,000
Haley
£160,000
-
£130,000
£290,000
Jan
£55,000
£100,000
£40,000
£195,000
Mark
-
£400,000
-
£400,000
Totals
£400,000
£870,000
£200,000
£1,470,000
Key Performance Indicators
Sales Target— % met (Co, Dept and Individual)
Buying Margin (POL) - 31% or higher
Conversion rate—40% or higher
KD Enquiry to Visit — 5 days or less
KD Visit to Quote—5 days or less
KD Quote to Follow up call—5 days
KA Quote issue—‘Same Day’
:
Rebranding (inc
web and shop)
Site Sales Campa
ign
After Care Guide
M48 Brochure
Refit the rear of th
e showroom
New Showroom
Bronze IiP
Maximise EQ
Training Prioritie
s
Planit Training
Greater design sk
ills
Overflow for KD an
d M48
Sales Training
Conversion rate im
provement
Improving sales te
chnique
Improving margi
n
Complaint handlin
g
Peer-to-Peer
Job based trainin
g
Other indicators or Customer Service Standards
KA new leads per week—36
KD new leads per week—8
Email collection—90%
Accuracy—100%
Phone Answering—4 rings
Remedial turnaround— 72 hours
KD Installation—‘Complete Same Week’
Our Vision
To have three unbeatable stores in Sussex and the recommendation
of every customer. To be selling £5m per year by March 2018
KITCHEN ADDITIONS OBJECTIVES
− Sales £625,000. Maintain and develop Paula Rosa
brand
− Customer Care Trained. Best service. Handle
complaints to win praise.
− Increase Online Traffic. Shop improve range. Add
Paula Rosa. EBay store….
− Improved systems to handle increased sales.
Batch processing – confirmations, orders etc.
Team Member
Cat
Dan
Emily
Haley
Jan & Kevin
Mark
Sam
Tanya
Online
Sales Target
£400,000
£247,000
£238,000
£185,000
£700,000
£400,000
£247,000
£185,000
£20,000
Key Performance Indicators
Sales Target— % met (Co, Dept and Individual)
Buying Margin (POL) - 32% or higher
Conversion rate—40% or higher
KD Enquiry to Visit — 5 days or less
KD Visit to Quote—5 days or less
KD Quote to Follow up call—5 days
KA Quote issue—‘Same Day’
KITCHEN DESIGN OBJECTIVES
MISSION.
Consolidate the big projects already started. And grow
sales to new record levels. Take on no big new projects!
Build our cash. Invest in the Paula Rosa brand to
reach a new market. Improve our Support Team so
customers have a seamless journey from sale to completion – win their recommendation. Market ourselves
successfully to fill our stores with the right customers
who will buy and be happy – and keep them as leading
showrooms in their areas.
− Sales £1,979,000. Maintain and develop Paula
Rosa b rand.
− Help manage customers expectations. 75% Supply and Fit orders. Out and about on more live
jobs.
− Quoting Efficiencies. 50% next day drawn. Max
2hr quote preparation.
− Showroom Refit at Lancing. Innovate with new
products.
− Recommendation of every customer. Customer
Survey. 90%+ satisfaction rate. Great communication.
COMPANY OBJECTIVES THIS YEAR.
To achieve sales of a minimum of £2.622M
by 31 March 2014
To focus on our referrals through delivering
excellent service and achieving an average of 90% in
Customer Surveys
Priority Projects:
Service Improvement
Simplify Systems
Training Priorities
Sales (Conversion rate improvement, Improving sales
technique, Improving margin, Quote speed, Complaint handling)
Peer-to-Peer (Job based training)
− Clearly understood customer journey from order
receipt.
− Prepare to handle 60 ‘live’ jobs. Increase in approved installers to 4.
− Simple systems but complete overview.
Other indicators /
Customer Service Standards
KA new leads per week—36
KD new leads per week—16
Email collection—90%
Accuracy—100%
Phone Answering—4 rings
Remedial turnaround—72 hours