Simon Cull comes from a sales and marketing career, latterly working for Bic. He was attracted to self employment and appreciated the advantages of a franchise. In-toto suited his interests and is proving to be a sound choice.
The displays are aspirational, showing kitchens with a 'wow' factor. However they are carefully designed allowing customers to choose something special without busting the budget.
Simon's wife, Emma handles the business administration, usually from home whilst caring for their two sons.
Andrew Hatfield and David Armitage each have twenty years experience in the kitchen industry, from installation to design. Latterly both held design posts within a major UK manufacturer. They felt frustrated as they rarely saw the effect their work had on the actual user, the homeowner. The appreciation of their creative and design talents was missing. Add to that their natural wish to profit fully from their work and you can understand why they have succeeded so rapidly with In-toto.
Andrew and David took space within Redbrick Mill, a large home improvement centre in Batley. The studio looks absolutely superb, with clever storage, worktop and appliance solutions. Being designers, prospective customers understand that their kitchen proposals truly suit their precise needs. The sales conversion rate is accordingly high, only exceeded by satisfied customers.
After fourteen years working for a large home improvement chain as General Manager, Shanti Panchani decided to jump ship and set up his own business.
'For me it’s all about service,' he says. 'In my previous role, I felt constantly frustrated by not being able to provide people with the kitchens they really wanted. I’ve long wanted to run my own business and felt that, given my experience of the industry, I could offer customers real added-value.'Tapping into franchisor experience and expertise
Shanti decided that an In-toto franchise would be a far better route to success than starting from scratch as an independent business. He cites the company’s high profile brand and strong reputation as major plus points. 'Also, although I know about kitchens, running a business is something new to me, and I valued the experience and expertise available to me through the franchise management team,' he explains.
A great feeling
After much searching, with the help of In-toto Shanti found his perfect location in the busy suburb of Northwood Hills – extensive, well laid out and situated directly opposite the underground station. 'My customers love the showroom. On day one, before any advertising or promotional activity, I had five passers by walk in off the street. One of them ended up buying my first kitchen off me – it was a great feeling after all the hard work I’d put in finding the showroom and getting it ready for launch!'Impressive growth and huge satisfaction
Nine months after launching, Shanti had sold almost £400,000 worth of In-toto kitchens and now has a team of four people working for him. 'To be honest, the growth curve has surprised even me!' he admits. 'I work a lot of hours – probably more than ever before – but now it’s my choice to do that and I do it because I love what I’m doing. I earn a good living and I get huge satisfaction from making my customers happy.'
The In-toto franchise at Cheltenham has chalked up over 20 successful years in business. Run by franchisees Rob and Hilary Evans, the Cheltenham showroom was initially launched by Hilary’s mother Carol in 1987, and today enjoys a fantastic reputation for stunning kitchen design, top quality products and outstanding personal service - from first enquiry through to final installation.
An excellent living
When Carol retired in 1999, Hilary decided to change career direction and take over the franchise. Previously a chartered accountant, she earned very good money, but worked all hours and felt that she had no real quality of life. The In-toto franchise offered Hilary the opportunity to work for herself, the satisfaction of building the business, as well as making an excellent living.'
Rob subsequently joined Hilary in the business, bringing a fresh set of skills to the team. 'I have a PhD in physics and worked in the nuclear industry,' he says. 'Whilst Hilary’s corporate accountancy background meant she was able to introduce a robust business structure based on targets and costs, I had extensive project management and design experience and was a strong communicator. Accordingly, Hilary takes care of running the business and I look after the customers!'
Turnover has doubled
The Cheltenham In-toto showroom is ultra modern and largely attracts young, professional, affluent customers, Rob confirms. As a result, the value of the kitchens they design has grown significantly, and turnover has doubled since Rob and Hilary took over. 'We are ambitious to grow and develop our business further and so we keep abreast of market trends and make sure our showroom looks fresh and features the latest styles,' they say.
Both agree that financially and emotionally the business is a substantially more rewarding than their previous careers. 'Obviously there are higher risks in being self-employed, but rather than being a small cog in a large machine, now I can see a job through from initial brief through to final installation and get great satisfaction from the end results,' Rob concludes.
Flexibility to work around the family
Grand Designs
One of In-toto Cheltenham’s kitchen designs was shown on the first programme in the new series of Grand Designs on Channel 4 lately. Due to planning restrictions, Tim and Zoe Bawtree’s new house could only be two storeys high and therefore the kitchen and a lot of the living space had to be built below ground. The Bawtrees asked Rob Evans from Cheltenham to design their kitchen in an “eye catching, yet warm and welcoming” way. This was achieved by using warm tones of Zebrano wood and servo drive drawers that do not require handles.
Although Paul Wheeler was already operating successfully in the kitchen industry, he was amazed at the impact the In-toto brand name created. 'In the past I’ve worked in a retail environment and have fitted kitchens, but I have never been so busy', he says. 'My wife works alongside me and we’re absolutely rushed off our feet – our business has really taken off!'
Established reputation and brand profile
He explains, 'I wouldn’t have considered risking setting up a studio under my own name, despite my previous experience. The attraction of the independent studio to customers is the individually designed kitchen, the high quality products and personal service; but without an established reputation or brand profile you would really struggle to compete. People do succeed, but it can take years.'
Paul opened his extensive Ealing showroom in February 2006. In his first few months he installed 24 kitchens and quickly realised that he needed some more help to handle the growing numbers of enquiries each week. 'I’ve been fortunate in recruiting a strong team, including another designer and an administrator, as well as extra support to cope with the high weekend traffic,' he says.
Designer kitchens at affordable prices
The average value of Paul’s kitchens is around £14,500 installed. 'We fill a gap between the high volume, low value market and top end bespoke kitchens,' he states. 'We attract customers who want the look of an expensive kitchen, but don’t want to pay a fortune, as well as customers that want something more individual than a standard range kitchen. We can provide a highly professional service and a designer kitchen at an affordable price, and so reap the benefits from both sides.'
He puts his success down to a stunning showroom in an excellent location, a high quality and stylish product range, as well as the personal rapport that he and his team build with their customers.
Tony Mawdsley set up the Plymouth In-toto franchise in October 2003 and hasn’t looked back since!
In-toto Scored 100%
Tony is a sensible and cautious person by nature. Therefore he thoroughly researched In-toto as a company before considering taking on the franchise.
Tony explains: “After researching various franchise businesses I met up with In-toto head office and liked the people immediately. I phoned a number of In-toto showrooms around the UK and asked them, ‘If you had your time again would you still open an In-toto showroom?’ Surprisingly 100% said yes, which was a very different response to the other franchise companies I had called.”
Tony continues: “I also did plenty of local research in our area myself and confirmed In-toto’s view that there was a market for In-toto kitchens and the success of the showroom has proved this to be true. Sales went very well in the first quarter, which was a great relief and confirmed that I had made the right decision!”
Having not come from the kitchen or sales industry, Tony did find the first six months challenging but within that time he had taken on his first designer and four years later he has no regrets. “ I make a good living, business is growing and I love what I do!”
Affordable Kitchens with the Designer Look
“In-toto kitchens are truly top quality and the choice is endless,” explains Tony. “We attract customers who want an expensive looking kitchen, but don’t want to pay a fortune. Or those who want something a bit different to a standard range kitchen, whether that be the style, colour or materials.” Tony puts his success down to a stunning showroom in a great location, a high quality product range, and the first class service that his team provides.
A Rewarding Challenge!
