Kitchen and Bathroom supplier

[LadyArowana]

Home fittings company Homeform, the owner of brands such as Moben, Kitchens Direct and Dolphin, is to go into administration.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13893510

and for a slightly more sensationalist angle on the same piece of news

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...lyn-Bowen-backed-kitchen-firm-Moben-bust.html

 

[Pford75]

Not surprised....too expensive to compete with the DIY sheds (whose kitchen ranges have been improving) and doesn't have the brand to compete with the bespoke suppliers. I ran some due diligence for a PE client on a very similar business and the major challenge was maintaining a team of quality fitters. They needed to do more than just kitchen fitting as there are often small electrical, plumbing works, plastering, tiling etc. And if people were really any good at these, they usually opted to be self employed builders/trades.

 

[JoceAndChris]

A sad loss of jobs - but I agree with Pford.

 

[Penners]

Perhaps even more importantly, Habitat has gone!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13901123

I used to supply Habitat with furniture and accessories. I'm very sorry to see its demise, but I suspect the event was writ in blood from the moment the first Ikea store opened.

 

[AMc]

Habitat closed their Norwich store a few weeks ago. Our experience of buying a sofa from them was so poor that I'm not surprised they were struggling, still its a pity because I liked the focus on modern design and I partly put up with their customer service because the quality was good (ironically as they were always jokingly known as ShabbyTat in our house).
Good luck to the workers effected in both cases.

 

[Feltwell]

Not overly surprised. Another reminder to always pay deposits by credit card, you will always get your money back.

 

[Penners]

Surely that's only true if your deposit is over £100, isn't it?

 

[Feltwell]

Yes, £100 to £30,000 apparently is the band. So be careful when you're buying your next new Rolls Royce Phantom :wink:

I didn't know that much about it, but a quick Google turned up this article, which although hammed up is quite informative. Details such as not always being protected if buying via a 3rd party (such as a travel agent) or if it's not the primary cardholder and cannot be proven to be for their benefit are useful.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases

A deposit for anything large is always likely to be over £100, and below that whilst highly annoying if someone ceased trading it's not going to be that painful.