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What's going on at Magnet?
27:06||Season 18Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and out and ups and down of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.And this is a surprise bonus episode before we officially start our new season in a couple of weeks time as we managed to catch up with Sophie Rose the CEO of Magnet to get an update on what's happening with them.And, as I'm sure you've been following, a lot has happened in the last few months.The business returned to quarterly profit in late 2025 for the first time since 2019. Then Nobia exited the UK, selling Magnet to private equity firm Alteri Partners - just a few months after Sophie Rose took the helm.But the turnaround story has remained challenging – this summer Magnet proposed a CVA to tackle historic property costs, including immediate plans to close 15 underperforming stores. So, after a year of new ownership, new leadership and some very significant financial restructuring, where does one of the UK kitchen market’s biggest names go from here?Here is kbbreview's very own George Dean in conversation with Sophie Rose…
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Resilience 2026: Matt Fowler from Hettich
15:17||Season 18What really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is the final episode in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue.We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.In this final episode we're meeting Matt Fowler from one of the biggest European names in furniture components - HettichThis episode is commercial content
Resilience 2026: Julie McLean from Hansgrohe
17:54||Season 18Resilience 2026: Julie McLean from HansgroheWhat really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is another in our very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue.We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.In this episode, we're meeting Julie McLean from one of the biggest names in bathrooms - Hansgrohe....This episode is commercial content
Resilience 2026: Dominic Worsley from Aga Rangemaster
19:01||Season 18What really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is the latest in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue.We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.When it comes to heritage it doesn't much longer than Aga Rangemaster and in this episode we're talking to Group Managing Director Dominic Worsley...This episode is commercial content
Resilience 2026: Howard Grindrod from Hisense
28:57||Season 18Resilience 2026: Howard Grindrod from HIsenseWhat really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is another of our very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue.We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.In this episode, we're meeting Howard Grindrod from one of the biggest appliance brands and manufacturers in the world - Hisense.This episode is commercial content
Resilience 2026: Arthur Leaker from Leaker Direct
18:59||Season 18What really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is the latest episode in our special series marking our 500th issue all about resilience and longevity in businessWe published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.In this episode we're talking about one of the most interesting sectors in this industry - distribution - with Arthur Leaker from from Leaker Direct...This episode is commercial content
Resilience 2026: Sven Herden from Rotpunkt
20:17||Season 18What really makes a business set to last?Welcome to The kbbreview Podcast, the show all about the ins and outs and ups and downs of being an independent kitchen and bathroom retailer.This is the first in a very special bonus series of interviews marking our milestone 500th issue.We published our first issue in 1984 and since then we've brought retailers the latest news, big interviews, unwavering opinions, valuable advice, deep analysis and product insightsThis longevity is not by accident, we are as buffeted by the uncertain and unpredictable market as much as anyone, and our heritage is built as much on resilience as it is by quality.And this is what we want to explore in this series - we're talking to some of the industry's leading suppliers about THEIR resilience, history, continuity and investments in the future.We're starting with Sven Herden, the managing director of sales and marketing for German kitchen furniture giant Rotpunkt - a family owned company that's been around for more than 90 years…This episode is commercial content