Used Kitchen Hub is an online platform for buying and selling ex-display and privately-owned used kitchens. Through an innovative marketplace, people can earn money from selling their old kitchen, find and buy a luxury kitchen at a much-reduced cost, while simultaneously doing their bit for the environment: the kitchens would otherwise typically end up in landfill.
We takes care of the whole process from initial viewing of the kitchen and selling it, to helping with removal and delivery. Initially established to help showrooms to shift their ex-displays, private sales are making up an increasing proportion of the business.
“We are very passionate about what we do”
Launched in 2017, Used Kitchen Hub (UKH) has saved hundreds of kitchens from being dumped, at a time when consumers are becoming more ethically-aware and environmentally conscious.
“Most people that need a new kitchen are so busy they don’t think about what to do with their old kitchen until the day it’s due to be ripped out, and historically they end up getting thrown away.” As he points out (although confesses not attributed to him), “You wouldn’t throw away a five-year-old car.” Sometimes we will sell a kitchen that they don’t make much money on just to ‘pay it forward’. “We would rather that than having it chucked out.”
It was Abrahams, who used to work in office furniture and relocations, who came up with the concept. He saw a gap in the market for helping showrooms to shift their ex-displays, so he approached them. The entrepreneurs have since built up an impressive network of showrooms that they work with, including Poggenpohl, Schmidt, Poliform, Pronorm and Mobalpa.
UKH transparently lists all its kitchens on our website, “warts and all”, something we are particularly proud of. “It’s very important to us that we put all sizing’s on our adverts.” We are also proud to be have been fully boot-strapped from the start. We only take on about 50 per cent of the private kitchens we come across, based on their condition and age, which range from nearly new to around 10 years old.
But can a kitchen really be a universal fit? “It’s like a giant game of Tetris,” says Abrahams. “All kitchens are modular. The tops of the units can come off to become free-standing so they can be reconfigured if need be.”
