Europe’s leading buying group for kitchen and bathroom retailers MHK Group has officially launched in the UK.

Originally founded in 1980 by Hans Strothoff in Germany, MHK now has subsidiaries across Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Today, over 2,700 trading partners benefit from its services, with the company generating a turnover of €5.5billion.

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Pictured (L-R): Paul Wheeler, UK sales director; Marcel Crezee, expansion managing director

As part of its range of services, it is able to offer members a central payment system, something never before offered in the UK by a buying group.

This streamlines the payment process for both retailers and supply members, minimising credit risks for suppliers in the process.

Marcel Crezee, expansion managing director for MHK, commented: “We are confident no other buying group can offer the purchase price and conditions offered by MHK.

“The first UK kitchen dealers started working with us from January 1, 2018, and our goal is to strengthen the performance of specialist shops and to increase their return on investment.”

And Paul Wheeler, MHK’s UK sales director, commented on its plans for the future: “We already have a significant number of some of the biggest and finest kitchen retailers in the UK as members, and our aim is to increase this figure by the end of next year.”

MHK’s headquarters in Dreieich, near Frankfurt

The other services that the buying group is able to provide its members include marketing and digital support, business management and kitchen specialist planning software from Carat.

Bryan & Caroline Newton of Hadley Kitchens in Leamington Spa, one of MHK’s first UK members, explained their reasons for joining the buying group: “We joined because of the great support we have received and to give us access to a much broader range of suppliers with great buying terms.”

In relation to the relatively low awareness surrounding buying groups in the UK, Paul Wheeler concluded: “There is a myth in the UK that becoming a member of a kbb buying group may mean giving up control of your business; that is categorically not the case.

“Membership does not mean giving up any business control. Kitchen retailers remain entirely independent to manage their businesses as they wish. There is no tie-in.

“The one-off membership fee is refunded if a member does have a change of heart.”

Philippa talked about the rise in buying groups in the kbb sector in her viewpoint of our October issue.