After setting up shop in Perth.
Perth-based homewares retailer, Kitchen Warehouse, has its sights on the east coast with plans to expand to Melbourne in early 2017. The retailer, which was established in 2002, sells appliances from Breville, De’Longhi, KitchenAid, Sunbeam and Tefal, among others, in addition to cookware, glassware and kitchenware.
Speaking to Appliance Retailer, Kitchen Warehouse director, Chris Murphy said, “We have a huge database of customers on the east coast already experiencing our brand online, so it made sense that we expand nationally with a physical presence. In what is a relatively fragemented industry, we feel that we have a compelling offering that can grow nationally.”
However, in terms of retail growth, he expects the eastern states to taper slightly after strong growth and the Perth market to rebound in 2018, but when asked about Christmas trade: “Perth is currently a tough market, but we feel that we will match or exceed last year”.
“Over the years we have experienced slow but steady organic growth in the Perth market. We have accelerated our digital exposure over the past five years and now present ourselves as a fully integrated omni-channel retailer with 50% of our group revenue from online channels. No doubt, the growing influence of digital has already had a huge impact on retail and this will only continue to grow,” he said.
“We like to think of ourselves as a big startup company – we are nimble enough to deal with challenges as they arise and capitalise on changes in the market. We have built a platform in our business that enables us to provide customers a fantastic experience across channels – no matter whether they want to shop online, in-store, click and collect or via mobile,” he added.
Kitchen Warehouse plans to rollout four additional stores in 2017 and focus on strengthening its private label offering and marketing across digital channels.
“We deliver good old fashioned service through all channels, we have in-store workshops, demonstrations and hands on product try before you buy. Lastly, we provide customers with fantastic value when they buy with us, top quality product at the right price,” Murphy said.