Let’s get down to business … how do our prices, services and products compare with
those of our competitors?
The good news for our clients is that we operate in a competitive
market. As a result, we need to continually be aware of other suppliers’ prices,
services and products in order to ensure that we offer exceptional service and value
for money in comparison.
Our main competitors include:-
Smallbone and Christians represent the very top end of the market in supplying truly bespoke furniture and will undoubtedly be much more expensive.
Neville Johnson and Conquest are of similar product quality but also tend to be much more expensive.
Freelance Cabinet Makers ~ generally a highly-skilled craftsperson, who usually has his/her own workshop producing fine furniture. Expect to pay a premium over our prices for good quality, hand-made, bespoke cabinetry
Spacemaker ~ product quality is again comparable but prices usually higher. They
also have the costs associated with expensive High Street showrooms and glossy brochures
to recoup.
Sharps ~ offer the ‘front frame only’ product, whereby there are no backs
or tops to carcasses (ie the wall is visible and allows dust into the space), enabling
a cheaper price. Their carcasses and doors are produced to a standard size and so
not truly bespoke. Expensive ‘High Street’ location showrooms and national advertising
campaigns, including television advertising, glossy brochures and national mail-outs,
must be paid for somehow and the cost is ultimately passed on to the consumer in
the product price.
Hammonds ~ product quality is comparable but prices are usually higher. As with Sharps and others, they pre-manufacture so are unable to offer the flexibility on furniture design, size and finish, with specific ranges offered in specific designs only. Also, as with Sharps, expensive marketing campaigns must be passed onto customers and reflect in their prices.
Sheds ~ including the likes of B&Q, Homebase and IKEA etc. Our prices may be slightly higher but a shed will not be able to offer the true quality and flexibility of our bespoke products, personal service and design skills ~ we are able to offer a free, in-home design (with full CAD visuals) and installation service (by our trusted fitters). Shed products are aimed at Do-It-Yourself installation or for contracting your own fitter. It is worth pointing out that the ultimate responsibility for the finished installation is then down to you and/or your chosen fitter.
Freelance Carpenters ~ usually one of the cheaper options and one which we do not attempt to match on price for the following reasons: (i) there is a qualitative difference between cabinet making and carpentry, (ii) a carpenter is highly unlikely to match our quality or range of finishes, (iii) you will not know exactly what the finished product will look like until it is finished, and that may be too late, whereas we supply CAD visuals and samples of finishes and (iv) a carpenter is unlikely to work at the speed and efficiency of our highly-skilled fitters and may turn your home into a workshop for weeks.
All the major home improvement companies except Smallbone, Spacemaker and Christians
pretty much have standard sizes of doors and carcasses and cannot claim to be producing
bespoke furniture.
In Summary ~ We are a family run business with over 30 years in the trade and enjoy providing a personal and attentive service (including researching and investigating products to find the best manufacturers and suppliers according to our clients’ requests and selling beautiful home accessories to add the finishing touch to our fitted bedrooms, home offices and home cinema). We operate from a beautiful showroom based in Loudwater, High Wycombe, which has very low operating costs, in order to pass these savings on to our customers. We don’t produce glossy brochures but instead offer simple pamphlets or supplier brochures to show our products and displays adequately but without the unnecessary costs ~ all enabling us to offer better value to our customers. We utilise our website (built, maintained and updated in-house) to communicate with interested enquirers. Our business success depends upon personal referrals and recommendations from happy clients and this must be earned. Our clients are discerning on quality, service and price and we aim to pleasantly surprise them on all three! Put us to the test and see how we compare!
Example of a bedroom CAD visual designed & supplied