I have read with interest this week that Hombase have become the only retailer to receive the FIRA gold award for products & installation. Now I am not knocking either Homebase or FIRA, but the question that needs to be asked is where does this leave the middle ground.
What do I mean 'the middle ground' and why? Well the middle ground are kitchen retailers either multiple or independent that has a product and service that is perceived to be of a better standard than Hombase, I mean just look at the quality differences in the product, thicker cabinet back panels, PVC edged cabinets, concealed hanging brackets, not multi holed side panels to name but a few. If retailers who sell these products have or do not have the FIRA gold award how can they distinguish themselves from Hombase during the sales process.
Scenario:
Customer to retailer: "Why should I buy a kitchen from you and not Homebase"?
Retailer: "Well our products have a so many year guarantee and have these specifications and are covered by FIRA Gold certificate".
Customer: "Aah yes but so are Homebase and they are cheaper than you".
Retailer: "Yes but ours are better quality than theirs".
Customer: But you have just told me that you are covered by FIRA Gold & so are Homebase, so there cannot be any difference can there"?
So where do we go from here? Are FIRA going to introduce a Platinum standard for the perceived better quality products that are available, I think not because this would then lessen the Gold standard and I cant see Hombase then upping its product quality to get the Platinum standard.
Then there is the Installation FIRA Gold award.
It is widely known that you only have to look at Internet review sites on companies before you buy and see how many people have written on them how they have experienced a poor installation service (not all poor I might add and some top end companies will have poor reviews as well, although not as many.) So again where does this leave the middle ground, where the installation service from companies that truly project manage each fit and rarely get problems, another Platinum award maybe? again I think not.
Where does the retailer and the customer stand in all this? As I said at the beginning where does this leave the middle ground. I have not picked on Hombase because I may think they have poor quality products, They don't, they have a value product within the market place, but if the market place is determined by the FIRA industry standard then I feel FIRA need to categorise the kitchen industry into Sheds, Multiples and independents.
If I am wrong on any detail or have missed something I am happy to stand corrected
Your comments are welcome
Thanks
Russell
