Getting a discount from an independent Kitchen Company.

Head_The_Ball

We are currently planning an entire refit of our kitchen. We are getting quotes from local independent Kitchen Companies offering medium to high quality bespoke kitchens.

We are not dealing with the likes of Wren, Wickes, Magnet etc who usually overprice by 200% so they can then offer large discounts.

What kind of margins do the independents operate at? Are they similar to Wren etc?

What level of discount, if any, can usually be negotiated?

We are getting quotes in the region of £16,000 including appliances and fitting.

We don't mind paying a fair price but we don't want to overpay.

Thanks.

Stevie_Palimo

Others will argue with me here but I have on several occasions used the power of cash to gain a decent discount, That and hard bartering.


If they quote you £16.000 then say I will get back to as I have other quotes to get, They then may drop the amount slightly, Still hang this out and make sure you get 3-4 quotes at the amount you will need to spend several will be better, Do due diligence on the Company and make sure they are both reputable and offer good quality products.


Once you get the best one in then go back and tell them all you have had a quote at £13.000 even if the best was £14.000 then see who drops to this, Finally ask if they will do a deal for cash as when I have done this it has saved me a good few extra pound on top.

Furts

The post amuses me. Why is it assumed that a discount should be applied? If a company is serious about an order then a realistic price is submitted. With negotiation a few percent may be possible.

I have never offered discounts. Indeed those few who have requested them have been given a cold shoulder. A fellow contractor also refuses the concept of a discount.

OP is making a commercial decision. This is to go with expensive companies where one buys into a "retail experience". That is fine, but does OP go into John Lewis, Waitrose, Harrods or Selfridges and then request a discount? I doubt it.

The reality is that discounts and value apply in the very areas that OP seeks to avoid. Yet £16000 with appliances and fitting is a relatively small, or cheap, kitchen from an independent, so why go with them?

CKdesigner

Hi

There is nothing wrong in asking for a discount, the retailer can always say no. However it is irrelevant asking what margins a retailer works on as surely what is important to you is the price you pay.

So if you're asking for my advice on how to make a kitchen from an independent kitchen specialist less costly then I would say do some of their work for them, expect less from them and take on some of the responsibilities they would normaly accept.

Firstly, measure the space accurately yourself, then design the kitchen yourself. Give this design with a fully itemised listing of all the units and specifications to the retailer and ask them for their best possible price for the 'supply only' of the cabinetry and appliances. You could then tell them that you don't want them to check measure the space and you are happy to accept the consequences of there being any issues due to incorrect measurements etc.

This way you are fairly substantially reducing the retailer's work load, then I think most independent kitchen specialists would appreciate your approach and honesty and give you a price accordingly. But having said all this surely one of the main reasons to go to an independent kitchen specialist is to get all the services (and more) I have described above. Not to mention a decade or 2's worth of design experience and expertise!

In short, go and have a few frank and honest conversations with different designers, don't think they are all there to get as much out of you as they possibly can. Most will want to design the best possible kitchen for you and be good value for money, because if they don't they won't be around for the long term.

CK

Furts

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi

There is nothing wrong in asking for a discount, the retailer can always say no. However it is irrelevant asking what margins a retailer works on as surely what is important to you is the price you pay.

So if you're asking for my advice on how to make a kitchen from an independent kitchen specialist less costly then I would say do some of their work for them, expect less from them and take on some of the responsibilities they would normaly accept.

Firstly, measure the space accurately yourself, then design the kitchen yourself. Give this design with a fully itemised listing of all the units and specifications to the retailer and ask them for their best possible price for the 'supply only' of the cabinetry and appliances. You could then tell them that you don't want them to check measure the space and you are happy to accept the consequences of there being any issues due to incorrect measurements etc.

This way you are fairly substantially reducing the retailer's work load, then I think most independent kitchen specialists would appreciate your approach and honesty and give you a price accordingly. But having said all this surely one of the main reasons to go to an independent kitchen specialist is to get all the services (and more) I have described above. Not to mention a decade or 2's worth of design experience and expertise!

In short, go and have a few frank and honest conversations with different designers, don't think they are all there to get as much out of you as they possibly can. Most will want to design the best possible kitchen for you and be good value for money, because if they don't they won't be around for the long term.

CK

But also reflect on the following. There are various independents within easy distance of me. One I would not wish on my worst enemy, and another should be avoided as a dubious company with a flash, money grabbing Director. Then consider the design. There is not a kitchen company, be it trade, retail or independent, within miles of me that can design as well as the local Magnet Trade.

In addition if OP were to follow the advice about their own design, their own specification, their own itemisation and their own risk taking then why go with an independent? These are the terms of a trade sale so consider going to a wholesaler, or trade supplier, and cut out the retailer's mark up.

If the route is indeed to an independent then this independent should be required to check all the data supplied and make a site visit. Simple run of the mill stuff to a competent independent, provided that the home is not far from the independent.

All food for thought, and I bow to CKdesigners professionalism plus all round ability to answer questions.

When it comes to buying a kitchen I would not be using an independent kitchen retailer. The financial figures do not stack up for the vast majority who live in ordinary homes. Equally, if I were in stock broker belt I would feel differently!

CKdesigner

It all depends on the independent! By their very nature every one is different.

Although Furts is in the main correct with his additional points I would say that the one that I don't agree with is going to a wholesaler. This is because if a customer wants a particular brand of kitchen because of its quality or a particular design and that manufacturer (as there are many) only supplies quality independent retailers, then the only choice for the customer would be to go to an official supplier of that brand.

CK

Furts

CKdesigner wrote: »

It all depends on the independent! By their very nature every one is different.

Although Furts is in the main correct with his additional points I would say that the one that I don't agree with is going to a wholesaler. This is because if a customer wants a particular brand of kitchen because of its quality or a particular design and that manufacturer (as there are many) only supplies quality independent retailers, then the only choice for the customer would be to go to an official supplier of that brand.

CK

I go with this, but this response deserves scrutiny. When kitchen companies supply exclusive independent shops this is a similar scenario to price rigging. I accept that is it legal, and I also accept it is transparent to those that know about such things. However it means that the consumer cannot obtain keen prices, or play one retailer off against another when considering the same product. This is because all retailers will have their set localities to work within. This gives them all a good chunk of profitability.

Compound this with the numerous mediocre independents that exist, then add in the greedy ones, and I maintain that the majority of ordinary folk are wise to avoid independent kitchen retailers.

An independent kitchen company visited my kitchen and was keen to undertake the work. However, I was not happy with this company and decided to be proactive along the exact lines that you recommend in #4. Ultimately this saved me at least £15000-£20000 on my kitchen. That is a lot of money to pay for the pleasure of "a retail experience" with a dubious independent kitchen retailer!

Head_The_Ball

Furts wrote: »

The post amuses me. Why is it assumed that a discount should be applied?

It wasn't, as careful reading of my OP might have told you.

Head_The_Ball wrote: »

..What level of discount, if any, can usually be negotiated?....

I was simply looking for advice from anyone who may have knowledge of how pricing in the independent kitchen market works. I'm not sure why that should amuse you but thanks for responding anyway.

Head_The_Ball

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

Others will argue with me here but I have on several occasions used the power of cash to gain a decent discount, That and hard bartering...

Thanks for that Stevie. I was planning on negotiating on price but I want to be forewarned on how flexible such companies might be. I realise that no two companies will be the same but, having not bought a new kitchen for 25 years, I have no knowledge of the market.

Head_The_Ball

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi

There is nothing wrong in asking for a discount, the retailer can always say no. However it is irrelevant asking what margins a retailer works on as surely what is important to you is the price you pay.

So if you're asking for my advice on how to make a kitchen from an independent kitchen specialist less costly then I would say do some of their work for them, expect less from them and take on some of the responsibilities they would normaly accept.

Firstly, measure the space accurately yourself, then design the kitchen yourself. Give this design with a fully itemised listing of all the units and specifications to the retailer and ask them for their best possible price for the 'supply only' of the cabinetry and appliances. You could then tell them that you don't want them to check measure the space and you are happy to accept the consequences of there being any issues due to incorrect measurements etc.

This way you are fairly substantially reducing the retailer's work load, then I think most independent kitchen specialists would appreciate your approach and honesty and give you a price accordingly. But having said all this surely one of the main reasons to go to an independent kitchen specialist is to get all the services (and more) I have described above. Not to mention a decade or 2's worth of design experience and expertise!

In short, go and have a few frank and honest conversations with different designers, don't think they are all there to get as much out of you as they possibly can. Most will want to design the best possible kitchen for you and be good value for money, because if they don't they won't be around for the long term.

CK

Thanks CK.

We want to get one company to do everything for us from designing the ideal kitchen for us to doing all the work. We have no desire to take on any of the work even if that would save us money. We want what I have highlighted in your post.

We are already doing what you suggest in your final paragraph but we do not know if the quotes we will be getting will be pitched high in anticipation of us asking for a discount or whether most companies start at a sensible price and have little or no room for negotiation. We know the way it generally works with the likes of Wren. We don't know if independents generally also operate that way. We thought that asking the question in this forum might help us.

CKdesigner

Furts wrote: »

I go with this, but this response deserves scrutiny. When kitchen companies supply exclusive independent shops this is a similar scenario to price rigging. I accept that is it legal, and I also accept it is transparent to those that know about such things. However it means that the consumer cannot obtain keen prices, or play one retailer off against another when considering the same product. This is because all retailers will have their set localities to work within. This gives them all a good chunk of profitability.

Compound this with the numerous mediocre independents that exist, then add in the greedy ones, and I maintain that the majority of ordinary folk are wise to avoid independent kitchen retailers.

An independent kitchen company visited my kitchen and was keen to undertake the work. However, I was not happy with this company and decided to be proactive along the exact lines that you recommend in #4. Ultimately this saved me at least £15000-£20000 on my kitchen. That is a lot of money to pay for the pleasure of "a retail experience" with a dubious independent kitchen retailer!

Hi Furts

I think you make it sound like it's a bad thing that some / better kitchen manufacturers only supply certain independent kitchen specialists. Others might say it's a good thing!

Yes as a designer and retailer of 2 quality makes of German kitchens it benefits me that the manufacturers only supply kitchen specialists like us. (Frankly if they supplied wholesalers or supplied the consumer direct then I wouldn't do those makes of kitchens, as what would be the point? ) But it actually benefits our customers as we have decades of experience designing quality kitchens, have an extensive in depth knowledge of the products we do, regularly attend manufacturers training in Germany and many other reasons. Simply if a customer wants a quality kitchen that really is not much more expensive, if at all, than a DIY store kitchen, then I think they deserve having quality design, service and advice.

I can't comment about an experience you had with a particular kitchen specialist, all I can say is there are over 1,000 independent kitchen specialists in the UK, so you are going to get some varieties but in general terms it's independents that innovate and nationals that play catch up.

CK