Sales director of Waterline talks about the retail reaction to the Midsummer Showcase

Crown Imperial recently held its Midsummer Showcase, an exhibition of its latest kitchen and bedroom furniture ranges at its HQ in Daventry. Attended by nearly 800 trade customers, over three days, it saw the launch of its Rococo ultra-matt finish, brushed aluminium range Alumina and additional high gloss for its Rialto furniture and painted decors for its Midsomer kitchens.

Q: What is the purpose of the Midsummer Showcase?

A: We’re launching a lot of new kitchen doors. We have over 50 new doors that we’re launching to add to the existing range of kitchen furniture we have. We have five new drawer systems that we’re also introducing.

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Q: Which are your hero kitchen products?

A: I want to call every single one of them a hero product. They are all very commercial. Retailers that have been asking for certain doors and certain finishes, we have come up with those finishes plus a whole lot more.

Q: Who has attended the event?

A: We’ve invited our whole customer base. I have been enormously pleased with the amount of people we’ve got here. Over the three days, we will be nudging close to 800 people who will have attended the show.

Q: What has the reaction been like?

A: The reaction from retailers has been absolutely fantastic, from the moment we opened.

Q: Do you agree the main market for kitchens is the 20-50 year olds? How does your kitchen offer meet their needs?

There has been recent research that has said people that are purchasing kitchens are between the ages of 20 and 50. I agree with that but I think the age goes beyond that as well. We have a product range of kitchen furniture that starts very much at the entry level of people’s budgets and then climbs all the way up. We have a number of doors that straddle all those different price points, so effectively we can supply a kitchen that fits anybody’s budget.

Q: How has this year been for you?

This year has started with lots of enthusiasm. People are here and the reason why numbers are up is that people are looking at changing displays in their showrooms and looking to modernise their showroom because people are thinking life is getting better.