Swedish kitchen furniture group Nobia, owner of UK brand Magnet, has predicted favourable British market conditions as it looks to implement ‘ambitious plan’.

Detailed in its 2021 Annual Report, Jon Sintorn, President and CEO, said the UK has the opportunity to ‘perform significantly better’, where ‘a potential for an operating margin of 10 per cent over the business cycle’ can be achieved.

“We have an ambitious plan for developing our operations in UK to drive profitable growth in the coming years. Some of the areas we are addressing through a product launch agenda are demonstrating leading design, creating inspiring showrooms in the right locations and truly putting the kitchen designer at the heart of our strategy. A ­journey of transformation is only as good as the people driving it, and we’ve added new talent from the kitchen industry and other industries, people with the ability and experience to lead the change we need,” he said.

“Magnet, which has strong recognition among UK consumers, is the core of our strategy in England. It serves as a strong base with nationwide distribution, healthy market share and kitchen expertise in the relevant market segments. The brand can be utilised in all segments of the market to a vastly greater extent, which we have successfully accomplished in the Nordic region with our Nordic brands, for example.

“Trade customers are an important and growing segment in the UK. They are frequent purchasers of kitchens and excellent ambassadors for our products. We began to hone our offering for trade customers already back in 2019, we are continuing to do so and we are well-positioned here. Magnet, and the trade segment in particular, will be the driver of both organic growth and profitability in the UK going forward.”

The Group’s net sales grew organically by 9% in 2021. By region, organic growth was 10% in the Nordic region, 6% in the UK to SEK 5 bn – £400.6m (accounting for 36% of group sales) and 12% in Central Europe.