Richard Lee on Paula Rosa Kitchens’ new showroom and evolving business strategy

Paula Rosa Kitchens has launched a fresh chapter in its 80-year history, opening a brand-new showroom in West Sussex to cater for a new generation of kitchen customer. We talk to chief executive Richard Lee to hear the thinking behind directly targeting the consumer retail market.

Q: Tell us about the concept behind the new showroom
A: The new showroom sits alongside our West Sussex factory, which was really important to us. It gives us complete control over the customer journey and creates a unique connection between the showroom and our manufacturing expertise. Customers can come in, design their kitchen and literally see where it will be made.

While the showroom will primarily serve customers across West Sussex and the surrounding area, it represents something much bigger for Paula Rosa Kitchens. It marks an exciting step in our evolution from a predominantly B2B manufacturer to a direct-to-consumer kitchen retailer, bringing our British manufacturing expertise directly to customers across the country.

Q: How many displays are there?
A: The showroom features 16 kitchen bays, each individually designed and styled to inspire customers and resonate with different tastes, lifestyles and needs. Rather than simply displaying different door styles and finishes, we wanted each kitchen to feel like a real, lived-in space that customers could imagine in their own home. That thinking continues inside the cabinetry, with carefully considered styling and propping that brings our storage solutions to life. Across the 16 bays, we showcase different layouts, configurations and clever design features, helping customers understand not just how their kitchen could look, but how it could work better for them every day.

Q: How did you decide on the styles of the displays and which products to showcase?
A: The displays were shaped by a combination of current consumer trends and almost 80 years of understanding what customers actually choose for their homes. Having supplied kitchens to major residential developments across the UK for decades, we have a wealth of insight into the colours, finishes, layouts and features that resonate with homeowners. We’ve combined that experience with emerging trends in kitchen design, from warmer, more natural finishes and statement colours to clever storage and flexible layouts. The result is a showroom that feels current and inspiring, while remaining grounded in what we know customers genuinely want from a beautiful, practical kitchen.

Q: Are there any working displays?
A: Yes, the showroom includes 2 fully working kitchen displays, designed to help bring the experience to life for our customers. Rather than simply seeing how a kitchen looks, customers can interact with the products and see how they perform in a realistic, lived-in environment. We use the working displays to demonstrate appliances, features and functionality, helping customers better understand how different elements could work in their own homes. It creates a much more engaging and immersive showroom experience, allowing customers to move beyond colours and finishes and really imagine what it would be like to live with and use their new kitchen every day.

Q: How are you planning to engage with potential customers in your area? 
A: We’re planning a programme of events that will bring the showroom and our kitchens to life. On 24th September, we welcomed MasterChef 2018 winner Kenny Tutt, who hosted a live cooking demonstration using one of our working kitchens. It’s a great opportunity to show prospective customers how the kitchen performs in a real-life setting, while creating an engaging experience for them. This won’t be a one-off. Over the coming months, we plan to host more events and demonstrations, giving local customers new reasons to visit, find inspiration and experience Paula Rosa Kitchens for themselves.

Q: In your view, is there anything different about this showroom compared to others?
A: Yes. We’ve really listened to our customers to understand what they want from a showroom experience. Alongside inspirational kitchens, we’ve created relaxed spaces to talk, a private design pod and an inspiration area with a live visualiser, where customers can explore different doors, worktops, cabinet colours and accessories. Our displays reflect current consumer trends, with every bay styled and propped, inside and out, to feel authentic and lived in. We’ve also carefully considered the entire customer journey, using engaging point-of-sale and messaging in our own tone of voice to guide, inspire and support customers at every stage of their visit.

Q: What sets Paula Rosa Kitchens apart?
A: Today’s consumers are more informed and more independent. They expect to be able to research and design on their own terms but they also want expertise and reassurance when they need it. We are taking 80 years of kitchen manufacturing heritage and giving customers more control over how they access it.

What really sets Paula Rosa Kitchens apart is the combination of our heritage, expertise and complete control over the process. A lot of our competitors merely assemble onsite, whereas we actually manufacture the kitchens. We deliver kitchens assembled and sell them direct to the customer. We’ve been making kitchens for almost 80 years, so we know kitchens and understand what customers need from them. Our factory sits alongside our showroom, giving us greater control and efficiency from design through to manufacture. That experience is reflected in how our customers feel about us too, with an Excellent rating on Trustpilot. Sustainability is equally important: our factory has been carbon neutral since 2020 and runs on 100% renewable energy, helping us create kitchens responsibly as well as beautifully.