We have been in the retailing business for over 14 years now. In the kitchen space, as a franchise, we are associated with the premium brands Nolte and Dada Armani. Before entering the kitchen business we were dealing in bathrooms, and that’s when we saw the opportunity to diversify. Today, thanks to the growth in the real estate segment, we see great potential in the kitchen business and it’s only getting better by the day. I must admit that kitchen retailing is a tough business and the lead time in this industry is almost a year; and if you were to speak in terms of attaining breakeven, then that would happen in three to four years only. What it essentially means is that one has to be patient and remain invested in the business for a long time.
Etreluxe showroom, at Delhi’s Sultanpur, is spread over 20,000 sft where we have on display nine kitchens. We have tied up with premium appliance brands, and they provide all the necessary support to us. In business terms, we sell (retail) 10 kitchens per month, and for projects, we supply over three thousand kitchens a year. For this store, we have invested over Rs 8 crore. We have plans to come up with more stores in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and in Maharashtra shortly. We are looking for business partners who can make an investment of Rs 1 crore and display four kitchens in an area of 3,000 sft.
The kitchen business is also becoming competitive; the presence of leading global brands and several home-grown brands has made the business more dynamic. The growing competition bodes well for the industry. In such a competitive market, if one has to sustain, then they must be able to sell four to five kitchens a month.
