As the spectacular MHK AGM kicked off in Berlin, Emma Hedges caught up with Eat Soak Sleep founder and MD Joe Riddell to find out what led him to join the buying group and to hear what it's like working with them day-to-day.
As events go, the MHK AGM is always an impressive one. This year's AGM in Berlin welcomed almost 3,000 members from across Europe, featured a programme of workshops and presentations from first-class speakers, and included a trade fair with over 100 stands. But it's a trade fair with a difference – there are plenty of places to sit and talk, while waiting staff pour drinks and delicious food is served. The atmosphere is both sophisticated and convivial, encouraging a relaxed environment where conversation can take place, and therefore business can get done.
Attending the AGM for the first time is Joe Riddell, founder and MD of Rugby-based Eat Soak Sleep. Riddell started his business during lockdown in 2020 and immediately found himself facing the industry-wide supply problems of the time. Fortunately, Riddell already knew MHK UK sales director David Morris through his previous role as a showroom manager.
"It seemed to me like a really obvious solution because to be a brand-new retailer with no trading history and to have the opportunity to have, what was effectively a limitless credit supply, was amazing. So for me it was always a no-brainer," he says. "We’ve been very fortunate – something that felt like a big risk at the time, in hindsight was probably the most fortuitous time that you could ever have started a business in this industry. And we’ve been growing and innovating ever since."
The premise of Riddell's business is "high quality, high design, competitive pricing", and it's a formula that has so far proved successful. Operating from one showroom, the company works with six or seven installation teams. "We're a relatively small business – we have a couple of really great designers in the showroom, a fantastic project manager, and me," he says. "We deal with Rotpunkt who offer a great depth of range and good adaptability. We also deal with Daval, who do a lot of our bedrooms and our traditional kitchens, and we also do a bespoke offering where we deal with a handmade company who do solid timber, painted, in frame, butt hinges, cock beading, fluted pilasters, and so on."
The flexibility of Rotpunkt's and Daval's portfolio means Riddell and his team don't just specifiy the products in kitchens, but find the furniture works well in bathrooms, home studies and media rooms too. "We take the approach that if we can draw it, they can build it," explains Riddell. "If an opportunity comes up to us then we want to grab it with both hands."
So what's it like working with MHK on a day-to-day basis? "I meet with David two or three times a year – they leave me to my own devices," says Riddell. "They have a great infrastructure as a business. Their portal is amazing – I can look at all the projected documents into the future, all historic documents, delivery notes and proof of deliveries, backdated invoices and so on. In a lot of respects I underutilise it – the guys that I work with do a great job – but it's incredibly trustworthy and transparent. Fundamentally it saves a lot of admin."
A key benefit of being an MHK member is having access to its supplier network – in particular, he says, niche appliance manufacturers that perhaps he would not otherwise have been aware of. "I would say their powers of introduction are not to be underestimated," says Riddell. "As their portfolio has grown it’s enabled us to put more product through the account and therefore have more of the bonuses, so it’s a nice thing to have. But they’re not there to negotiate deals or speak to manufacturers on our behalf – they’re a great introduction for us to build a relationship."
As a first-time visitor to the AGM, Riddell has been struck by the sheer scale of the event and the number of attendees. He notes that having a powerful business of this size with the kind of visibility that MHK has behind you is a tremendous asset. "They're seeing the huge issues that are facing our industry coming down the road," he says. "I'm constantly questioning if we're doing things the correct way and thinking about how we refine our practices and procedures – MHK are a really great source of information when it comes to that.
"I think something that’s perhaps a little bit overlooked is the community feel that you get as a member," he adds. "David can offer me really good insights into the industry and what changes are happening where. And as an independent retailer you end up in your own microcosm and it’s difficult to really know what the industry is doing if you’re not networking all the time. Getting a bit of an insight into how other people are approaching problems in their businesses is useful."
So, how's business at the moment? "I almost feel bad saying it because I know the entire industry has struggled a little bit over the past 12 months, but last year we were around 25% up and we’ve had a really amazing start to this year – a pretty recording-breaking quarter," he says. "So things for us are going incredibly well." So well that Riddell is in the process of expanding his current showroom and mulling over opening a second.
While he believes that he and his team wouldn't be too far behind where they are now if they hadn't had the support of MHK, he is certain that overall membership of the group has been an advantage. "There are lots of things that I wouldn't have considered as a business that I've considered after conversations with MHK," he concludes. "It's been an invaluable relationship in a lot of respects."
