Any recommendation for trustworthy dealers for German kitchen in London

clarklf

Hi there,

I am looking to install a new kitchen (quite small, about 4m*2m).

I really like German products and have done quite some research on German kitchens. As far as I enjoy the learning part of this, I found it extremely inefficient and there is very low price transparency in the industry (to be honest, I think this is an industry to be disrupted by the internet and digital technology). I am so tired of asking every independent dealer to provide the design and quote and visiting their showrooms in all parts of Greater London. It is very difficult to judge the quality and there is a big price discrepancy.

I would really appreciate some help on what are the a couple of trustworthy and not greedy (an industry expert told me the dealer earn 3-5k from a kitchen) dealers in London for Alno, Shuller, Hacker and Pronorm.

Quite a few people have told me that German kitchen is not that more expensive than a UK kitchen if you find the right dealer, so far from my experience I just struggle to find that good value for money German kitchen...

Thank you so much!

Furts

My gut reaction is you are seeking the impossible. German kitchens, coupled with London will not equate to value.

Independents will not be offering real value for money. For value you have to seek out the trade sources used by the building industry. Add to this independents each tend to have their territories, and each will tend to sign up with a particular manufacturer. This is good business practice but a cynic would call it price and territory fixing!

Bear in mind German kitchens are not inherently better than UK made kitchens. Indeed, countless German kitchens are grossly inferior to my standard UK made kitchen. Equally, my UK made kitchen did not come through an independent because of all the added sales puff, and inflated prices that one buys into.

A further issue is the quality of the independents. You have experienced dissatisfaction, and I have regularly posted that the independents within a reasonable distance from me are dire. However, the independents would say they are offering the levels of service that customers demand. Since most kitchen purchasers are swooned by the heart and not interested in the pragmatics I would agree with this. Independents can give cr-p service because countless consumers do not care about this. Clearly you do care, but I sense you are a lone voice. I also think you will not achieve your goal.

Hope this helps.

ryder72

OP -
Of the 4 brands you mention, I would say Alno is going to be worst for value for money. Pronorm is probably going to be best value for money with Hacker and Schuller somewhere in between.

On this basis, I would definitely steer clear of Alno (unless you are looking for brand cred, Alno is the one to look at, but I really dont think there is much quality in it. You will get very similar quality from both Hacker and Schuller with a lot less.

Pronorm will give you good design detail, good build quality and a lot of flexibility but it will be more expensive than Hacker or Schuller and less than Alno.

If I had to buy one of these brands, I would buy Pronorm.

clarklf

Thank you Furts. What are the high quality (compared to the German brands), good value for money kitchen manufactures in the UK?

Thank you!

clarklf

Thank you ryder72. This is very helpful.

Let's say I want to ditch Alno and do more research on Pronorm, Shuller and Hacker. They are all sold through various dealers who have their own profit target and pricing level. I would like to find one or two good dealers to work with for each brand. How should I do this?

I can obtain a list of dealers for Shuller and Pronorm, but Hacker is very secretive about who are their dealers (no public info on website and I only pushed for 2 names). I tried to go through the list one by one, go on their website and try to gauge how professional they are. This is a very time consuming and inefficient process and to be honest I am quite fed up with it already... I even tried to come up with a design using Shuller's online tool and send the product list to multiple dealers for quote but the result was not satisfactory.

I would really appreciate someone in the industry to enlighten me here - what are the good dealers to work with for each brand? My definition of good here is trustworthy, professional (know the product and can come up good design) and high value for money.

Thank you very much!

Spell100

CIE Plc in Kent have been selling high-quality German kitchens and accessories in the UK for many years. Their current website only mentions Bulthaup. Might be worth contacting them for advice.

Furts

clarklf wrote: »

Thank you Furts. What are the high quality (compared to the German brands), good value for money kitchen manufactures in the UK?

Thank you!

In general you are approaching matters from the wrong direction. A kitchen is a cheap as chips product where all manufacturers be they German, or UK, or Italian or whatever will tend to use the same product. An example is 18mm Egger board. All will tend to use the same hinges and the same draw boxes. Thus a Wickes, or a Howden, or a Benchmarx, or a Pronorm will be similar.

The difference can be made with the doors - but these are what you specify. Vinyl wrap is a disaster area and you should not be considering this. However, these come with German kitchens and from independent retailers which shows that buying German is buying into a brand, or snob value. Yes good doors are available, but these are supplied from the likes of Howdens as readily as they would be from a German kitchen company. So do not associate door supply with a country where you want your kitchen to be made.

Equally you can specify a better hinge or a better drawer box. But again these are your decisions.

From this simple analysis you will deduce that there is no particular UK made kitchen which would be outstanding. Most are perfectly adequate.

Then remove a rose tinted spectacle view of German kitchens. The reality is the German kitchen units represent perhaps less than one quarter of a typical kitchen. The worktops, the floor, the sinks, the taps, the electrics, the plumbing, the appliances, the fitting... all add up and all make a difference. These items have nothing to do with Pronorm, or Hacker or any kitchen manufacturer.

I wonder if your kitchen is too small to stimulate interest from independent retailers of German kitchens, and too small to enable you to show off your decision to buy into a German kitchen brand.

When all these points are considered you can see why the vast majority of UK consumers avoid German kitchens and avoid independent kitchen retailers. Both have their place but this is a niche market that is not relevant to the typical UK home.

clarklf

Thank you Furts for the long paragraphs. This is very British to me and I am not quite sure I get your answer to my question. Are you saying I should buy from Howden or Wickes or Benchmarx?

Thank you

Furts

clarklf wrote: »

Thank you Furts for the long paragraphs. This is very British to me and I am not quite sure I get your answer to my question. Are you saying I should buy from Howden or Wickes or Benchmarx?

Thank you

You buy what you are happy with, you pay what you are happy to pay. German kitchens are expensive, independent retailers are expensive and independent retailers are not very good - all typical comments.

People buy Wickes, Howdens and all the others because they are perfectly adequate and they represent better value for money.

There are huge profits made on kitchens and it is up to you to specify, check, touch and make sure you are not being ripped off.

SMS63

I am struggling with this issue like clarklf. We have looked at Howdens and Benchmarx and whilst the brochures look good in realty the quality is poor. Howdens gloss doors have a poor finish on the rear. The recycling bin would not retract back into the cupboard and the mechanisms of such fittings felt flimsy and poor. We have a Mereway kitchen 12 years old which still looks like new. Not sure what they are like now but we are enlarging our kitchen and need to replace it. Apart from bespoke joiner-built UK kitchens I have yet to see anything form a UK retailer that matched even the Nobilia German range sold in Homebase. The latter customer care sucks according to many online reviews so won't be buying from there but having difficulty finding anywhere else that would supply German units only in Surrey.