David Morris, sales director at MHK UK, talks to Nicola Hanley about how the buying group adds value to its members’ businesses.
When MHK, the European specialist buying group for the KBB sector, began looking at ways to grow the business even further in 2024, its eyes naturally turned to the UK. In Germany as well as other parts of Europe, buying groups are the norm, however when MHK entered the UK in 2018, they were a much newer concept. Six years later, with a growing team and a large roster of major supplier and retailer members, the potential for the buying group in the UK market is clear.
“We can open in other countries and that’s obviously one way to keep growing, but the focus for MHK as a group is to grow the UK,” says sales director David Morris, who joined MHK UK in 2019. “So we were asked, ‘what do you need to grow the business?’ And for me it’s about people. We needed to invest in new people so we could have more bodies on the ground.”
So far this year MHK UK has added 3 more people to the team – Louise Wheeler, office manager; Jon Earl, regional account manager, and more recently, Liz Cragg, regional sales manager for the North. “We need this level of people now,” continues Morris.
While MHK's member numbers steadily grow, Morris stresses that he is focused on quality rather than quantity. “We can’t work with everybody,” he says. “We’re effectively handling the money between the retailer and supplier, which means the retailer has a line of credit that is open-ended so they can buy what they want, when the need it. This really helped during Covid with credit limits being slashed by manufacturers and suppliers. But to offer open-ended credit, you can’t just knock on the door of a retailer and say ‘why don’t you join us?’ You need to do a bit of detective work first to find the right quality of retailer.”
Those retailers that do qualify to become a member benefit from a steady supply of furniture and appliances from MHK’s 70 odd suppliers, which includes brands such as Smeg, Fisher & Paykel, Nobilia and Xeno Kitchens, at improved margins. “We have 4,200 retailers across Europe so we have really good buying terms with manufacturers and a rebate structure so the retailer can earn a bonus from the supplier. We also share our profit with the retailers at the end of the year,” explains Morris.
Members also benefit from the expertise of the MHK team. “Our members look to us for advice and they see us as being neutral in terms of what supplier they should work with. They also see us as a bit of a sounding board. It can be quite a lonely place being a retailer and it’s good to talk to someone who is not trying to tell you their product is the best thing since sliced bread.
“As well as helping them with credit, we can write or support retailers with business plan, cash flow forecasting and website traffic. I don’t know of any of our members who don’t listen to what we say as they know we can add value to their business.”
Members also have access to a What’s App group where they can share ideas and information. “They trust recommendations that come from fellow members. We had a strap line for an event a few years ago which was 'stronger together’ and I still say that a lot. We are stronger together. The mission statement of MHK Group is 'with the strength of the community to the success of the individual'.”
At its second UK AGM, which took place at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield in July, MHK brought suppliers, retailers and industry partners together to listen to speakers including Damian Walters, CEO of the BiKBBI and Alison Edgar MBE. “We know the market is harder at the moment so we wanted a guest speaker that could talk about sales. I met Alison Edgar a couple of years ago and knew she could talk about customer experiences, customer service and the state of the market. Consumers have lots of choice in the market so it’s about making them want to buy from you and helping retailers think about how they present themselves.”
Morris says that MHK UK plans to add another person to the team by the end of the year as it looks to continue its growth trajectory. “But it’s quality, not quantity,” he reiterates. Solid surface is another area that he sees as a real opportunity and he is currently in talks to add that to MHK’s portfolio. “That’s something I’m working on at the moment. I think we could grow significantly by adding that to our offering.”
