FBD group Focuses on Transparency, Value, and Expanded Offerings for Kitchen Brands
The FBD Group, encompassing brands like Reference Kitchens, Kitchen Plus, and Ixina, is strategically refining its approach to kitchen sales, focusing on clear pricing, highlighting added value, and expanding into broader interior design solutions. Sophie Chervin, Group Purchasing and Offer Development Director, and Sylvain Mauberret, Marketing, Communication and Digital Director, outlined the group’s plans in a recent interview.
Currently, the group is adjusting product ranges to align with brand positioning, including tiered offerings like access and middle premium for Reference Kitchens and Kitchen Plus. promotions will increasingly feature brands that support this strategy; such as, Ixina franchisees are benefiting from a storage promotion on Electrolux appliances to enable more competitive pricing.
Looking ahead to the end of 2025, the FBD Group’s communication strategy aims to encourage consumers to initiate interior design projects. Recognizing current economic anxieties that lead to consumer savings but project delays, the group intends to demonstrate the profitability of kitchen renovations as an investment that increases property value.As Sylvain Mauberret stated, “We want to give them the spark that makes them say ‘now I’m going.'”
To differentiate themselves, the FBD group is actively identifying and targeting product segments overlooked by competitors. Recent examples include Cuisine Plus’s offer of “€1 more for an extractor hob” and a focus on 70 cm wide cold appliances,anticipating growth in demand for this size.
A key differentiator highlighted by Sylvain Mauberret is the group’s commitment to price transparency. “We assume our prices, and we do not give them ‘from’,” he explained. Catalogs and advertisements will feature complete kitchen prices, including all necessary components, alongside messaging emphasizing the design and functional benefits of their products.
For the coming year, the FBD Group plans to broaden its offerings beyond kitchens, incorporating living spaces like TV furniture, coffee tables, and dressing room solutions, building on their existing dining area offerings.
Looking further to 2026, the group aims to simplify the purchasing process by offering financing options similar to car loans, presenting kitchens as a monthly expense. Specifically,Cuisine Plus intends to promote complete kitchen packages,delivered and installed,for a fixed monthly cost of €129.This strategy is driven by the fact that 46% of kitchen buyers in France currently utilize credit financing.
