Hello

[chichesterkitchens]

Put a few posts on here and thought I'd drop by and say hello and introduce myself.

Although I do bathrooms, It's mostly kitchens these days. Been fitting for 10 years+. Had three months at Kitchens Direct and sold over 60 kitchens just to see what it was like.

Then worked as a rep (or Area Sales Manager) for Mereway for almost a year (my predecessor lasted 6 months, his predecessor lasted few weeks, his predecessor did a few months...... and so on and so forth) but learned so much about all aspects of the industry. Learned about all the main european manufacturers, design software, appliances, good and bad showrooms/retailers, even how to crack internet furniture selling (see below). Although I'm no longer with Mereway, they really do have the best product and service around right now (marginally better than Hacker and Zimmer I reckon). I've helped to get a new showroom open too since leaving, and am helping set up another one in Portsmouth. On the back of Mereway, I'm doing quite a bit of work for German manufacturer, mostly getting their product into showrooms.

Now back on the tools (mostly fitting mereway) and also doing sales training for showrooms and designers (getting busier and busier all through recommends). I'm currently allowing one day each fortnight for this and I'm booked up till March!

Also doing supply-only for mereway as long as the customer (builders, fitters and cpl of DIYers) within a two hour drive of sussex (I visit each and every client to whom I supply a kitchen) and currently setting up a site to push this in a much bigger way (will be online by Feb 08.. watch this space). I'll be able to cover most of the country as I've set up a network of 6 fitters to do site visits with each order at no extra charge to the customer. I'll also check the customers plan to ensure they've ordered the right filler panels, etc. As it's only really a sideline for me, my prices will be much keener than the other internet suppliers out there (factory gate price plus around 15-20%) and I don't mind if I don't make any money for the first 2-3 years. I've already taken my own images as i want total control over site content, rather than being told what images I can and cannot use.

All in all, I've done 31 rigid kitchens in the last three months (including the ones I've fitted myself).

[kitcheneer]

Hi CK
What sort of pricerange do Mereway come in at? If a showroom were to offer their products then how would the prices compare to , for instance, MFI
Reason I ask is that I am setting up a workshop/showroom in Aylesbury in January, and I have wondered if I should offer something else as wwell as my own stuff

John

[chichesterkitchens]

hey kitcheneer

Their prices are ok really. The thing is whether or not they would open an account for you. I didn't look after Bucks so am not really sure where the nearest dealer to you is.

If you pm your email address, I can email you some more detailed info.

Builders, designers and fitters are really overlooked by the quality manufacturers like mereway, and it's understandable as they've got to protect their showroom business. However it's a huge hole in the market and no-one is really filling it. Once you've got access to the product, it's little more than a paper exercise and un-necessary to add a hefty margin. After all Mereway deliver direct so you've not even got to handle the product itself.

To give you an example, taking a 1000 drawerline base unit on their integra walnut range. I supply this for £323.97 plus VAT and still make a nice margin. On two internet sites doing mereway, I've seen it (under various names) for £373.80 plus VAT and £397.14 plus VAT.

I've even seen a delivery charge of £150 added to orders.

Along with Mereway, I'd also consider Hacker and Zimmer. I am biased and know Mereway much more, but Zimmer are also on top of their game right now, although whereas mereway do remmedials in 48 hours, Zimmer take a few weeks. Hacker is generally cheaper across the board, but it's not quite as nice as the m-way product.

If I was going to open a Mereway showroom right now, I'd want to be next door to Howdens, Moben, MFI, or a DIY shed. If a punter looks at any of them, and then looks at a mway product, it's a done deal.

It's also worth looking at their carcasses for your hand-made stuff. I know a beautiful showroom in Hatch end doing amazing hand-made stuff (they're always in 25 beautiful kitchens magazine) who mostly use mereway carcasses. It takes the hassle out of making them yourself and if you ask for them undrilled (so not even any holes for shelf pegs and hinges) you can really make them seem bespoke.

[natkits]

Put a few posts on here and thought I'd drop by and say hello and introduce myself.

Although I do bathrooms, It's mostly kitchens these days. Been fitting for 10 years+. Had three months at Kitchens Direct and sold over 60 kitchens just to see what it was like.

Then worked as a rep (or Area Sales Manager) for Mereway for almost a year (my predecessor lasted 6 months, his predecessor lasted few weeks, his predecessor did a few months...... and so on and so forth) but learned so much about all aspects of the industry. Learned about all the main european manufacturers, design software, appliances, good and bad showrooms/retailers, even how to crack internet furniture selling (see below). Although I'm no longer with Mereway, they really do have the best product and service around right now (marginally better than Hacker and Zimmer I reckon). I've helped to get a new showroom open too since leaving, and am helping set up another one in Portsmouth. On the back of Mereway, I'm doing quite a bit of work for German manufacturer, mostly getting their product into showrooms.

Now back on the tools (mostly fitting mereway) and also doing sales training for showrooms and designers (getting busier and busier all through recommends). I'm currently allowing one day each fortnight for this and I'm booked up till March!

Also doing supply-only for mereway as long as the customer (builders, fitters and cpl of DIYers) within a two hour drive of sussex (I visit each and every client to whom I supply a kitchen) and currently setting up a site to push this in a much bigger way (will be online by Feb 08.. watch this space). I'll be able to cover most of the country as I've set up a network of 6 fitters to do site visits with each order at no extra charge to the customer. I'll also check the customers plan to ensure they've ordered the right filler panels, etc. As it's only really a sideline for me, my prices will be much keener than the other internet suppliers out there (factory gate price plus around 15-20%) and I don't mind if I don't make any money for the first 2-3 years. I've already taken my own images as i want total control over site content, rather than being told what images I can and cannot use.

All in all, I've done 31 rigid kitchens in the last three months (including the ones I've fitted myself).

A new website, eh? Will it be all your own work this time, or will you be stealing more bits from other people's websites, again?

Oh, and by the way, regarding your comment in another thread about Mereway not coming out to check on jobs that have gone wrong... perhaps they'd help you, if you actually bought from them direct. I gather you're buying from one of their customers, so no wonder you have problems like wrong coloured units!

[chichesterkitchens]

It's just more competition and that can only be a good thing

After all it's a great product and even buying on the grey market (from more than one showroom incidentally) will still allows me to be very competitive as in reality it's no more than a paper exercise.

What I've noticed about the various internet sites is that they are all slightly different. Mine will again be slightly different as I will be offering site visits. It will not be the best site out there but just different.

As it happens I reckon that yours is one of the most user friendly ones out there.

Anyone who has ever sat outside a howdens or magnet trade on any weekday morning will realise that if someone can find a way to somehow get quality kitchens to small builders, they will be sitting on a goldmine.

I know there's a Hacker customer launching an internet sales operation in the new year and he tells me that he's gonna do £1million+ sales in his first year, but I'm far from convinced (mainly because he comes from within the kitchen industry).

Perhaps it will be someone with a internet/marketing background (rules me out then!!) who will really crack it.

[natkits]

Competition I have no problem with, the more the merrier.

What I do have a problem with, is the way you've gone about promoting your Mereway product on the Net. You're directly linking the product brand with very low prices that will undercut the traditional Mereway retailers every time; this is working directly against Mereway's policies, as I'm sure you know. You mention in another thread that you understand Mereway's rules that are put in place to protect their retailers, yet you snub those rules completely in other posts here; you're doing yourself no favours. Whichever of Mereway's retailers you're buying from, do they really know how cheaply you're planning on selling the same product as them? How you'll be taking customers and profits away from them?? It's hard to imagine that they do.

Picture this... You're an Internet Retailer buying direct from Mereway, you're working hard to adhere to all their rules and regs about changing range names, never associating their name with your products, not being able to use their marketing materials etc. Then, along comes a new website which is flouting all these rules that you're working so hard to stick to... how would you react to that? I imagine you'd be pretty pissed, frankly.

Play the game fairly my friend, it'll be easier in the long run.

Alec

[chichesterkitchens]

Again i reiterate competition can only be a good thing, can't it?

All I want to do is offer small builders, fitters, designers, one-man-bands, etc an excellent product at the cheapest price I possibly can. What's wrong with that??

It's no different to when tesco started selling levi jeans for twenty quid and levi got snotty about it because they wanted to keep the price artificially high. Tesco bought the jeans on the grey market which basically let them do what they liked pricewise, and the customer was the winner. To my knowledge the levi stores are still busy aren't they? I'm not looking to tread on anyone's toes, just to make good quality rigid kitchens available to those small builders and fitters who can't afford them at the moment.

I did also say I've arranged all my own images (at some expense to myself), plus put aside over 12 grand to hopefully get it to the top of google. I think it's only fair that you reserve judgement for a few weeks (or even months) until it's up and running. It will be www.trade-kitchens.net by the way.

As I said in my earlier posting I am sure someone will come along one day and really crack the internet thing but I don't think it will be me.

When i got together with my internet guy, he asked me who is my target customer and I literally drove down to Howdens and pointed at the hairy arsed builders loading up their transits. Trying to convince them to spend a bit more on a far superior product that they have to wait a cpl weeks for is not going to be easy. I speak often to the guy about to do the hacker thing online to share marketing ideas and he's agreed to go first to see how he gets on (we have both used the same guy to build our sites).


It's a big world out there, and there is a huge space for internet retailers, even when selling the same product. It's not all about price though, if it were wouldn't lidl be busier than tesco?

[natkits]

Again i reiterate competition can only be a good thing, can't it?

Once again, I reiterate, I welcome genuine competitors.

All I want to do is offer small builders, fitters, designers, one-man-bands, etc an excellent product at the cheapest price I possibly can. What's wrong with that??

You say that as if I have a problem with you supplying builders and developers with cheap kitchens... I have no problem with that at all, supplying quality kitchens at cheap prices is something we already do.

It's no different to when tesco started selling levi jeans for twenty quid and levi got snotty about it because they wanted to keep the price artificially high. Tesco bought the jeans on the grey market which basically let them do what they liked pricewise, and the customer was the winner. To my knowledge the levi stores are still busy aren't they? I'm not looking to tread on anyone's toes, just to make good quality rigid kitchens available to those small builders and fitters who can't afford them at the moment.

In that case, stop treading on toes! Follow the rules that others have to adhere to, it's really not that difficult. I'd welcome you as a genuine competitor who plays by the same rules that we do.

I did also say I've arranged all my own images (at some expense to myself), plus put aside over 12 grand to hopefully get it to the top of google. I think it's only fair that you reserve judgement for a few weeks (or even months) until it's up and running. It will be www.trade-kitchens.net by the way.

It takes a lot more than money to get to the top of Ggle, but you'll find that out sooner or later. But, I hope you have a lot more money tucked away for this, you'll need it.

As I said in my earlier posting I am sure someone will come along one day and really crack the internet thing but I don't think it will be me.

I agree, I don't think it'll be you either. You postcreting a customers drain, for some reason, gives me the impression that customer service isn't high on your list of neccessities for running a business. Go figure.

It's a big world out there, and there is a huge space for internet retailers, even when selling the same product. It's not all about price though, if it were wouldn't lidl be busier than tesco?

Sheesh, I hope you have better analogies than that to use. Give Lidl's the amount of marketing money that Tesco has, then we'll see who's busier ;)

[chichesterkitchens]

Come back from holiday soon Nat Kit's as I'm missing your delusional rants