european-kitchen-design.com

Many of you have asked me for a ‘top 10 list’ of European kitchen companies. Being that in my mind ‘Top 10′ is not just about company size and/or sales volume (especially in today’s economy…) I’m still working on that list for you and sooner or later it will be posted.
In the mean time, with the help of a good friend (thank you, A.S.), I was able to come up with the list of the largest companies in the European kitchen brands for you.

                                               
The difficult part about coming up with such a list is how do you measure size, or I should say - by what parameters. I see, some European companies are actually part of a Group - they own several kitchen brands/factories, not necessarily all in the same country (!). Some manufacture kitchens but also sell retail, through a chain of factory owned stored. They may produce less kitchens, then another company, but if you add their retail sales, to their wholesale figures and then add appliances (manufactured by appliance companies, counters and even labor, the comparison is simply not easy.

So with the above in mind, the only way to create the list (without going nuts) is really just by total sales figures (Europeans like to use the term - ‘Turnover’). So here is the list:

1. Nobia Group (Sweden) - There are many companies in this group, like Poggenpohl and Pronorm (Germany), HTH (Denmark), Marbodal (Sweden), Sigdal (Norway), EWE (Austria), plus, they also have a retail-network in the group - Magnet (UK).
2. Nobilia (Germany) - one company.
3. Alno Group - Alno, Wellmann, Pino and Impuls (Germany).
4. Cuisine Schmidt (France) - including a retail-network.
5. Häcker (Germany) - one company.
6. Nolte (Germany) - one company.
7. Mobalpa (France) - including a retail-network.
8. Schüller (Germany) - one company.
9. Bauformat Group - Bauformat and Burger (Germany).
10. Snaidero Group - Snaidero (Italy), Rational (Germany and including retail-networks like Ixina and Cuisine-Plus.

Some intresting facts:

•  The majority of the companies, in the above list, are from Germany and the Scandinavian countries.  In that part of Europe, the groups (or concerns) are very typical and have been around since before Columbus discovered America… (no joke!).
• The only Italian company is in the tenth spot - unlike the northern Europeans, in the southern part of Europe, the opposite is more common - smaller companies, privately owned and operated. Even inside Italy, the more south you go, the smaller and more family owned and operated the companies are. With that said, there are a lot more Italian kitchen companies operating and selling kitchens, then there are German and Scandinavian combined…
• If we only consider single factory sales, without retail sales and/or other companies in the Group, the largest one is Nobilia, from Germany, then  Häcker, Nolte and Schüller, from Germany.
• This list is not guaranteed, as many companies do not publish their sales figures but is fairly close to reality. Also, the list can change in one day, if one of the groups decides to sell off a factory or two, or in return, to acquire a couple of brands.

It all started several years ago, when the elite Italian kitchen company, Pedini, became ’the kitchen supplier’ of the football (’soccer’ in case you’re a Yankee…) team Inter (Milan, Italy, in case you’re a baseball fan…) - some of the footballers that got a Pedini kitchen were Ronaldo and Crespo (both are no longer with Inter, in case you care…).  

What do Ronaldo, Crespo and Leonardo DiCaprio all have in common? (Clue - it’s nothing to do with their names…). They all have Italian kitchens, made by Pedini. Pictures - courtesy of Wikipedia.

Next, to get a Pedini kitchen was Leonardo DiCaprio (the actor, not a footballer, in case you’ve been in coma for the past 20 years…).

Then started the Italian kitchen design invasion of the British Islands - Model Charlotte Meares (also girlfriend of Tottenham striker and English National Jermain Defoe) is said to have fallen in love with Pedini’s unusual designs after learning above trio each had a Pedini kitchen in their homes. She spared no expenses on her £200,000 (approx $350,000) - you can read more about it and see more pictures at Mail Online.

No expense spared: Charlotte in her £200,000 kitchen.

Picture courtesy of Mail online.

Kitchen design - Pedini UK  

Next in line to get their Pedini are another English National striker and one of the top English Premier League team’s owner (names are withheld at their request).  

And just when we thought we have seen it all and that the European kitchen designers are not going to re-invent the wheel - they re-invented the kitchen!

Sheer is a company that took the European kitchen design in a new direction. They have developed a super minimal kitchen, all inside an egg or a ball shaped structure - it has a sink, a cooking element and even a refrigerator.

In combination with a wall unit, that houses some extra pieces and some extra storage, who needs anything else?

Just please, don’t ask for ‘over easy’…

There’s nothing new about kitchen brands hiring notable designers to design their new kitchen models.

In recent years though, the new trend is to hire designers there are not from the kitchen design arena or even architectural specialist but rather designers that specialize in anything but kitchens. 

After Snaidero used the services of renowned designer Pininfarina to create their Ola kitchen, it was Poggenpohl’s turn - they partnered with Porsche, to create their P’7340 model.

Last, but surely not least is Pedini - they recently unveiled their new Integra prototype model, designed by Lamborghini and we have the first image of what this kitchen is going to look like.  Very fast…

If you missed the 2008 Eurocucina (Milan, April 16th-21st), you’ll need to wait 2 years to attend the next one… In the meantime, here are a few highlights.

One of the most interesting comments that you hear from many of the show attendees is that it almost seemed like the entire show is designed by one company… So many of the products are so similar to each other, using the same colors, materials and features that by the tenth stand, you are starting to get the feeling that you’ve seen this kitchen in front of you already.

The truth of the matter is that many of the products are indeed very similar. The first reason is because it is very difficult to ‘re-invent the wheel’ over and over again, year after year, so the amount of innovation and the level of invention are somewhat limited.

Another reason for the similarity between the companies’ products is the fact that they are all influenced by the current trends/colrs/fashion, they are also influencing each other and to some degree copy each other. Therefore, if they do not have a brand new look, a ‘design first’, there is a very good chance you’ll see it everywhere.

Add to that the fact that all the manufacturers are sharing the same suppliers and some of the same sources - that alone will limit the amount of new looks you’ll be able to present.

With all of the above said, some brands are always working harder and are able to come up with something new. It may not be a complete ‘design-break-through’ every time, but at the least it will be an attempt in achieving one. These companies belong to the small and very exclusive group of the ‘trend setting’ brands - they are the ones that set the tone, the ones everyone is watching and the ones that will be copied.

A couple of great examples of the companies that displayed new and exciting designs this year were Marchi and Pedini - one is very tradinional with an ‘old world’ feel, the other is ‘cutting edge’ contemporary. They are always located side by side, at Eurocucina - always showing brand new designs and never disappointing.

Above: Marchi Group

Above: Kitchen Design By Marchi.

Above: Pedini

Above: ‘Dune” by Pedini.

Above: “Dune” by Pedini.

It is not easy to keep coming up with new designs, or to find new materials that can be used to create ‘the new look’.  For that purpose, these companies are hiring the services of very talented designers, architects and design firms. Some are coming from different industries and are making the ‘cross over’ to the kitchen design field from other areas. Lately it is the automobile designers that are entering the kitchen arena (Pininfarina, for Snaidero, Porsche for Poggenpohl and Lamborghini for Pedini.

If you are not living in the UK, chances are you may have never heard of Grand Design. Now you are asking - what is Grand Design - it is TV show, it is a home show and it is much more then all of that.

Pedini UK just finished participating in the Grand Design home show (London, May 3rd - 11th, 2008) and here are some photos they sent us -

Shown above: Pedini’s new model - ‘Dune’.

Shown above: Pedini’s Integra in a new color.

Shown above: Pedini’s new model - ‘Dune’.

Pedini Cucine is offering a sneak preview of the newly design Artika kitchen model for Eurocucina (opening April 16, 2008).

Artika, the ever so popular model was first introduced 6 years ago in the Milan fair. It immediately became a trend setter and was copied many times over by numerous kitchen producers.

Now, after 6 years, Pedini is re-introducing it, with some changes to keep this classic ‘fresh’ and trendy.

In addition to the redesigned Artika, Pedini will also introduce a brand new line in their Eurocucina stand.

Last, but not least, Pedini is unveiling yet another surprise, in a private event, in an old castle in downtown Milan - a brand new Artika design by one of the worlds most famous automobile manufacturers. Want to know who? You’ll have to return to this site after the show…