Starting your own business is a very important and challenging decision. So, it’s best to do it in a sector that both suits you and offers great prospects for the future. Is this the case with fitted kitchens?
Kitchen market: key figures and franchises that are recruiting
The kitchen market is obviously linked to the real estate market in general. In the UK. we often say that “if we are not moving, we are improving” What does that mean?
When times are good, we invest in bricks and mortar because we are deeply invested in improving their living conditions and consider it a good, secure investment. When the economy weakens, we also invest in bricks and mortar because they consider it the ultimate safe haven .
As a result, despite economic upheavals, we have demonstrated remarkable consistency in its desire to invest in real estate.
Hence, the fitted kitchen market is the most stable of all Western European countries. Overall, over the past 20 years, the market has experienced average annual growth of 2 to 4%. It has proven spectacularly resilient to crises.
For example; The aftermath of the Covid crisis caused a significant drop during the lockdown periods, the market recovered with unexpected vigor, resulting in historically unprecedented growth of 25 to 35% in 2021 and 2022. After such a surge, the market very logically experienced a period of consolidation in 2023, which continued into 2024, before a recovery predicted by all industrial players in the second half of 2025.
Does this mean that the fitted kitchen market is in crisis now? Not at all. The market, in absolute terms, is still above the level of 2019, the last pre-Covid year, a year when no one was talking about a crisis.
This means that around 1 million kitchens are sold each year in the UK.. The equipment rate is very high, approaching 90%, and the renewal rate is tending to accelerate, which helps to boost the market.
The kitchen market retains significant profitability potential
It’s all well and good having a large market with a significant sales volume. But it’s important to know if this market offers good profitability.
Let’s take an example: the household appliance market. It’s undeniably a high-volume market. But price comparability, the concentration of producers, and the arrival of discounters and e-business players have contributed to price wars and, consequently, to a decline in margins.
What about the fitted kitchen?
Overall, fitted kitchens still offer margins that remain very attractive. For two essential reasons.
- On the one hand, every kitchen is unique, composed of a specific combination of products. While the prices of household appliances and bathroom fixtures are comparable, those of furniture are much more difficult to do so.
- On the other hand, consumers value the design service offered by the kitchen designer. Certainly, e-business players are present, but generally as part of the entry-level segment where the consumer designs their project themselves.
As soon as the consumer moves upmarket, they want to be accompanied by a professional kitchen designer.
The mid-market is heavily impacted by the segment’s major leaders,, who are waging a price war with promotions. The higher the range, the more consumers value the quality of advice, products, and support, which has the benefit of protecting attractive margins.
This is why Raison Home is not focused on the entry-level or mid-market.
How is Raison Home revolutionising the kitchen and interior design market?
Why can we talk about a revolution?
Because all market players offer exactly the same showroom customer experience
Raison Home has chosen to offer a combination of three elements that constitute a true revolution on the market.
“Why would I ask my clients to come and explain to me what their interior looks like, in which I will have to harmoniously design a new layout, when it would be so much simpler for me to go to their home and have everything in front of me?”
Claude Raison , the brand’s founder, had a very clear vision. Going to the customer means being interested in them first before being interested in their project, establishing a close relationship within their living environment, using everything we see to better understand the family’s life, its organisation, its challenges, its tastes and its preferences. The relationship developed is completely different from that in a showroom.
Second pillar of the differentiating concept: we are convinced that many consumers know perfectly well what they want and do not want a kitchen designer, in the name of any expertise whatsoever, to tell them what is good for them. On the other hand, they want to be accompanied by a professional who will help them design the project that suits them.
They will be their “sparring partner” who will encourage them to express the benefits they expect from their choices, who will explain the pros and cons of each option to help them make the best decisions, who will present alternatives to them when they stumble to find the right solution. It is an ongoing collaboration, based on collective intelligence techniques, which generates the pride of the client in having designed THEIR project themselves, which is by definition unique.
Finally, the third pillar of the Raison Home concept is the A to Z service. The objective is simple: to secure the customer by accompanying them through all the stages of their project. Concretely, where the showroom operator might abandon their client when it comes to carrying out all the additional work that will be necessary to install the new kitchen, the Raison Home Home Designer assists their client with all the additional work providers to ensure that the project progresses in accordance with the specifications and the defined timetable.
By combining home sales, co-design of the project and its co-implementation through constant support for the customer, Raison Home is revolutionising the fitted kitchen market.
Why become a kitchen designer?
There are many emotional reasons.
- Because you have a passion for meeting people, listening to their stories and their projects to beautify and improve their living environment.
- Because you love projecting yourself into space to imagine how to reorganise it to create a habitat that better matches the dreams and needs of your clients.
- Because architecture and design are your thing. You love beauty, functionality, and ergonomics.
- Because you love that adrenaline rush as your client approaches signing the contract. It’s all about winning, and you love to win.
There are also rational reasons that may lead you to choose the profession of Home Designer.
- A market, as we have seen, which offers good volumes and very interesting protected margins.
- A generally stable market over the long term, which is very reassuring.
- The ability to organise your life as you see fit, based on your goals, family constraints, and recreational activities.
And let’s not beat around the bush: to earn a good living.
If you create your business, devote a significant part of your life to your professional activity, invest so much energy in your passion, it is because you find pleasure in it and you earn a very good living.
Raison Home is revolutionising the market here too. Showroom costs: £0. Annual showroom maintenance and upkeep costs: £0. This changes everything.
You need to invest significantly less, which reduces your risk and makes getting started as an entrepreneur much easier. You reach breakeven much faster and have significantly greater revenue prospects given your low cost structure.
Conclusion: the fitted kitchen market is a good choice and Raison Home offers a concept that is an obvious revolution.