Retailer Darren Taylor, owner of Winchester-based Searle & Taylor, says supply shortages have meant a bottleneck of fitting kitchens before Christmas.

He said a shortage of building materials, as well as appliance stock issues, has meant kitchens destined for extensions or newbuild homes have been delayed.

It has created a knock on effect causing projects to be pushed on, which means retailer Darren Taylor said he now has to calculate how he can fit outstanding kitchens before Christmas.

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He commented: “Normally we wouldn’t even book a job in December because most of our fits will last over three weeks, especially if it’s got hand-painting involved.

“We are now getting a lot of kitchens right up to Christmas and I can see us still going by Christmas Eve. It’s a stressful time of year for us, at the moment.”

Darren Taylor points out appliance delays are still on-going with most suppliers on a 12-week lead time but could span up to 20 weeks, depending on the product.

He said: “The appliance companies are always giving us the best lead times, not necessarily the worst case, because they are already horrible.

“But I’m finding I’m being promised 12 weeks and on the 13^th week I’m chasing them up and it’s falling into the 14^th or the 15^th week and then our clients have got lovely kitchens with holes in them, where there should be a coffee machine or a fridge or a freezer.”

“I just wonder how much of the can we’re taking for our suppliers.”

Taylor said some appliance suppliers have been more proactive than others, providing them with letters from the CEO to explain global product shortages.

But he said it’s key for independent retailers to manage client expectations and points out a kitchen sold today, by his business, wouldn’t be completed until February or March.

Lockdown may have created the uplift in demand for kitchens, but Taylor said sales shows no sign of slowing: “We’re seeing an uptake in planning applications. All the builders are busy. Everybody is busy and so long may it last.”