Insight Retail Group (IRG) has added two new sections to its website: ‘Doors Explained,’ which explains the differences between different types of doors and ‘Retailer Services’ which compares extra services offered by retailers such as product guarantees, design and installation services, consumer protection and finance packages.
“The addition of the new pages further helps to educate and inform consumers whilst demystifying the key service aspects of the kitchen market, providing clear, factual comparisons of the services offered by the retailers,” said IMG’s commercial director Steve Collinge. “Consumers now have all the information they need to be able to select the national retailer that provides them with the right design and style of kitchen at the right price and backed with the right service. As a retailer, if your kitchens are over-priced or you don’t offer adequate levels of product guarantee or service, there’s nowhere to hide.”
The comparison website already features high street giants B&Q, Homebase and Wickes, and the hope is that the additions will further improve consumer’s experience of buying a kitchen.
IMG’s commercial director Steve Collinge said: “The consumer response to our website has been excellent and it’s no surprise that people have just been asking for more – more kitchen designs, more retailers and more information. The planned expansion to include additional retailers such as Magnet and IKEA only adds to our overall credibility and positions us as an essential first reference point for anyone wanting to purchase a kitchen from a major national retailer.”
Kitchens Kitchens own Jeff Russell has previously commented that smaller, more bespoke design based small businesses shouldn’t worry about the kitchen-compare.com website as put simply a B&Q flatpack kitchen customer is only concerned with cheapness, not quality, nor bespoke design and are happy to have a kitchen designed by a non design based order taking, sales assistant.
Just like a beautiful handcrafted Bentley sold bespoke to a customers requirements is not the same as a Skoda Octavia and as such the two products and their respective customers are entirely different.
The recent year on year growth in the UK in the sale of German Kitchens of Nobilia, Hacker and Schuller and the Italian kitchens of Minotti and Miton whilst the likes of Homebase and B&Q have been stuggling are testament to consumer sentiment and economic prosperity amongst homeowners with and without equity and the fortunes in these respective markets do indeed mirror the UK housing market somewhat.
