Naked Kitchens’ Plan to Become the UK’s Biggest Bespoke Kitchen Brand | Alex Everett

What does it actually take to build one of the biggest independent kitchen brands in the UK? This week on The KBB Collective Podcast, I sit down with Alex Everett, MD of Naked Kitchens, to get inside the business behind one of the most recognisable brands in the KBB industry. Naked Kitchens operates very differently from the average independent kitchen retailer. They manufacture from two enormous former World War II aircraft hangars in Norfolk, operate six CNCs, have showrooms including Chelsea and Cambridge, and are expanding beyond kitchens into whole-house joinery through Naked Designs and furniture/products through Naked Studio. And Alex has a big goal: To become the biggest bespoke kitchen and joinery retailer in the UK. We get into the actual business thinking behind that ambition. We discuss: • How Naked Kitchens has evolved from the original Norfolk Oak business • Why Alex started on the factory floor before moving into leadership • How Naked combines automation with traditional craftsmanship • Why their cabinets are manufactured differently from much of the industry • How they structure and manage their design teams • Why their showrooms sit inside the MARKETING budget • How they market differently to homeowners, architects and interior designers • Why AI is already changing how customers discover kitchen companies • How Naked is adapting its SEO strategy for AI search • Why Naked Kitchens refuses to discount • The “discounting death spiral” that destroys margin and brand positioning • Why “the price only ever goes up” • How Alex uses gross-to-net margin to measure operational efficiency • The KPIs they monitor inside manufacturing • Why having a rigid vision but an adaptable route to get there matters • And Alex’s long-term plan to take on some of the biggest names in the UK KBB industry There are a LOT of lessons in this one for independent kitchen retailers. Particularly if you’re trying to work out how you go from being a good kitchen company to building an actual brand and scalable business. If you own or run a KBB business, this is worth 42 minutes of your time. Subscribe to The KBB Collective for more conversations with the people building some of the most interesting businesses in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. — CHAPTERS 00:00 – Alex Everett & Naked Kitchens 00:27 – What is Naked Kitchens today? 03:32 – Expanding beyond kitchens 06:35 – The story of 80/20 Kitchens 09:00 – Inside Naked’s huge manufacturing operation 11:32 – The history of the family business 14:07 – Joining and succeeding in a family business 15:26 – How Naked Kitchens manufactures 18:10 – How the showroom & design teams work 20:09 – Targets, sales and designer incentives 22:04 – Naked Kitchens’ marketing strategy 24:18 – SEO, AI and the future of kitchen search 26:11 – Why showrooms are a marketing expense 26:53 – B2B vs B2C marketing 28:47 – Competing in a saturated kitchen market 31:20 – The discounting “death spiral” 33:30 – Why Naked Kitchens keeps increasing prices 34:58 – Building a brand with conviction 36:30 – The KPIs Alex watches 39:14 – The ambition to become the UK’s biggest 40:35 – Restoration Hardware & the long-term vision