EXCITING TIMES AHEAD
Somax Kitchens are celebrating their 10th anniversary in June. Owner Toby Lister tells Sarah Varley how the business has ‘bloomed’ at Shackletons Home and Garden
Owner Toby Lister is thrilled with how Somax has grown over the past 10 years and how being based in the beautiful Ribble Valley, with just a five minute commute to work, has changed his life.
After studying furniture and product design at university in London, Toby went into the family construction business before entering the kitchen industry 24 years ago.
“I spent over a decade providing luxury kitchens for exclusive developments and then a further two years running a kitchen showroom on Deansgate in Manchester,” Toby tells me. “I loved the work but after having two children, working in central Manchester really didn’t fit in with family life. I wasn’t seeing nearly enough of my children Sophie and Max, so I decided to set up on my own. I named the company after my two children and focused on building up the business with my contacts in the luxury development sector.”
“As my business grew, the opportunity came up to have a showroom within Shackletons. I jumped at the chance as it’s a fantastic position to showcase our kitchens. At the time it was a totally new concept to have a kitchen showroom within a garden centre but it really works as we have customers from all over the north coming to see us. It’s a real destination to spend the day in a stunning location in the heart of the Ribble Valley.”
“I’ve used luxury German kitchen manufacturer Rational exclusively for the last 12 years. They perform at the highest level in terms of quality and innovation, but we are able to compete with middle market manufacturers on price because we’re a relatively small company without the huge overheads of multiple showrooms and dozens of staff. Our stunning kitchens, competitive prices and personal service make us a perfect fit with high quality developers – they really help sell the houses which obviously makes the developers’ job easier! We currently have over 100 kitchens on order for one company alone, all being fitted over the next 12 months into houses ranging from £750,000 to £2m, including the home of a certain young England footballer!”
“We specialise in Neff appliances, again for their fantastic innovations and quality. As a Neff 5* Master Partner we are recognised as one of the best showrooms in the country. The Neff Master Partner Awards are regarded as one of the highest awards in the kitchen industry and at this year’s ceremony, held at the O2 in London we were delighted to win Best Showroom Display. It’s fantastic to be recognised in this way – it makes all the hard work over the last 10 years worthwhile.”
Call into the beautiful Somax showroom at Shackletons Home and Garden to see the kitchens for yourself, or call 01200 441995 for more information
Somax Kitchens
Shackletons Home and Garden
Clitheroe Road
Chatburn BB7 4JY
01200 441995
www.somaxkitchens.co.uk
