Premium appliance group Middleby Residential UK has launched its first showroom bringing six of its brands under one roof in Oundle, Northamptonshire.

In a former Aga showroom, the refurbished and expanded space measures 3,000sqft, spread over two floors, and features 51 products across six brands.

These include AGA, La Cornue and Novy, together with AGA Outdoors, Kamado Joe, and Josper.

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Global president of Middleby Residential Group Najib Maalouf, said the concept of co-branding in a store started ahead of the pandemic, with an Aga store in Harrogate having introduced Evo Grills to its offer, before adding La Cornue.

Commenting on the launch of the Oundle showroom, with a “record” number of Middleby brands in one store, Najib Maalouf said it will sell direct to consumers, but will also act as a support for kitchen retailers, showcasing a wide offer that may not be available at a dealer’s showroom.

“This is more than just a store with a catchment area of 50miles, it serves as a support for the sales and marketing effort and as a support for the project business, especially for the luxury business such as La Cornue”, which he said requires a lot of consultation with consumers, interior designers or architects.

Najib Maalouf added: “The expectation from the store is now much more sophisticated.”

Talking about Middleby Residential, which comprises 21 brands in total, he stated: “We are this great collection, a unique collection, of luxury brands. And from the expanse of our portfolio, we are the largest by far. There’s nothing really comparable to that in high-end residential goods.

“We are very proud of this composition and we want to do this composition justice.”

Maalouf said the next step in its journey would be the opening of “a true experience laden store store” in the London area, “hopefully” based in Knightsbridge, but could take some time due to a “tough” retail estate market.

“Eventually the masterplan is to have four flagship experiential stores in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh”.

Maalouf said these would be twice the size of the current Oundle showroom to feature a wider choice of Novy and re-introduce Viking refrigeration to the UK.

He explained the ultimate goal would be to have a representation of all 21 Middleby Residential brands, under one roof, but the business had  “a long way to go” before that happened.