WHO IS/ARE MOBEN?
Moben's original owners gave the name an
umlaut (two dots) to make the name sound German to improve
its image. They obviously recognised that German kitchens
had a better reputation than English ones.
Moben is now part of MKD Holdings, a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Homeform Group. NOT ANY MORE, SEE THE RED
BELOW
MKD is short for Moben Kitchens Direct.
Moben operate through showrooms, websites and by telephone
whereas Kitchens Direct does not use showrooms.
My experience suggests that Moben and Kitchens Direct share
resources such as offices, staff and subcontractors.
Sometimes telephone calls are answered 'Cornbrook' which
appears to be more related to geographic location rather
than company name.
The following is a quote from the Homeform Group's website
at www.homeform.co.uk
The famous names within the
HomeForm Group are among the UK's leading home
improvement brands.
With sales of £180m per annum, the HomeForm Group sells and
installs some 45,000 kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms every
year for customers throughout Great Britain.
To see a complete list and description of HomeForm’s
brands, please look at the Group Websites
page.
The other two large businesses in the
Homeform portfolio are Dolphin Bathrooms and Sharps
Bedrooms. Homeform was the subject of a management buy-out
a few years ago - so you can't buy shares on the Stock
Market.
According to Homeform's Financial Statement for 2005, they
and Moben made (significant) losses during 2005 (around
£20m for the Group and around £6m for Moben Kitchens
Direct). They have been trying to improve their position
during 2006.
See
Feb 2007 News
for news of Homeform being
put on sale because of the money it's losing.
See Apr 2007 News
for news of Homeform being
sold to Sun Capital Partners
Inc
See May 2007 News
for news of MKD Holdings
going into Administration and details of Moben's new
owner
If you spot any more interesting news relating to the 'new'
Moben then please let me know at
mw@kitchenhell.co.uk