Pedini back in the UK

Italian kitchen manufacturer Pedini officially opened its Battersea showroom in London last night, marking the return of the brand into the UK.

The 5,500sqft showroom combines Pedini kitchens alongside Domus tiles and is being run by Italian company Lida Cucina, trading under the name Pedini London.

Despite the Pedini brand having previously pulled out of the UK, Sandra Hendry, sales and marketing at Lida Cucina commented: “There was nothing wrong with the brand or the product. They sell all over the world. Business is flying and taking on Pedini has made a big difference.”

Further expansion seems to be in place for the Pedini brand, with six showrooms planned for the M25 area, as well as others around the country including suggestions of Cheltenham, Manchester and York.

Martin Hanna, UK agent for Pedini, commented: “What happened to Pedini in the UK before is history. We are not interested in the past. We are speaking about the future. It is probably still the plan that we have six stores within the M25, strategically placed away from each other to allow the growth of each business. We also have a store opening in Guernsey.”

The brand has dropped its prices, introduced a couple of new ranges and are taking a “slowly slowly” strategy according to Hanna.

Francesco Verdini, export manager for Pedini, added: “Maybe the reputation we had is not good, but once people remember the brand, they remember the quality so this is the important thing for people. In the past, maybe the mistake was made by Pedini UK that prices were too high and to deal with them was too difficult. So now we have changed. We want to be more flexible, we want to create a network. Whereas before, we just had one shop with exclusive dealership. It doesn’t work. Maybe they weren’t making the right steps. Like little by little, step by step and grow in a short time.”

Verdini concluded: “When you build a house, you need to start from the base and the base must be solid otherwise the house will fall down. A business is the same.”