The 10 largest European Kitchen Companies
Many of you have asked me for a ‘top 10 list’ of European kitchen companies. Being that in my mind ‘Top 10′ is not just about company size and/or sales volume (especially in today’s economy…) I’m still working on that list for you and sooner or later it will be posted.
In the mean time, with the help of a good friend (thank you, A.S.), I was able to come up with the list of the largest companies in the European kitchen brands for you.
The difficult part about coming up with such a list is how do you measure size, or I should say – by what parameters. I see, some European companies are actually part of a Group – they own several kitchen brands/factories, not necessarily all in the same country (!). Some manufacture kitchens but also sell retail, through a chain of factory owned stored. They may produce less kitchens, then another company, but if you add their retail sales, to their wholesale figures and then add appliances (manufactured by appliance companies, counters and even labor, the comparison is simply not easy.
So with the above in mind, the only way to create the list (without going nuts) is really just by total sales figures (Europeans like to use the term – ‘Turnover’). So here is the list:
1. Nobia Group (Sweden) – There are many companies in this group, like Poggenpohl and Pronorm (Germany), HTH (Denmark), Marbodal (Sweden), Sigdal (Norway), EWE (Austria), plus, they also have a retail-network in the group – Magnet (UK).
2. Nobilia (Germany) – one company.
3. Alno Group – Alno, Wellmann, Pino and Impuls (Germany).
4. Cuisine Schmidt (France) – including a retail-network.
5. Häcker (Germany) – one company.
6. Nolte (Germany) – one company.
7. Mobalpa (France) – including a retail-network.
8. Schüller (Germany) – one company.
9. Bauformat Group - Bauformat and Burger (Germany).
10. Snaidero Group - Snaidero (Italy), Rational (Germany and including retail-networks like Ixina and Cuisine-Plus.
Some intresting facts:
- The majority of the companies, in the above list, are from Germany and the Scandinavian countries. In that part of Europe, the groups (or concerns) are very typical and have been around since before Columbus discovered America… (no joke!).
- The only Italian company is in the tenth spot – unlike the northern Europeans, in the southern part of Europe, the opposite is more common – smaller companies, privately owned and operated. Even inside Italy, the more south you go, the smaller and more family owned and operated the companies are. With that said, there are a lot more Italian kitchen companies operating and selling kitchens, then there are German and Scandinavian combined…
- If we only consider single factory sales, without retail sales and/or other companies in the Group, the largest one is Nobilia, from Germany, then Häcker, Nolte and Schüller, from Germany.
- This list is not guaranteed, as many companies do not publish their sales figures but is fairly close to reality. Also, the list can change in one day, if one of the groups decides to sell off a factory or two, or in return, to acquire a couple of brands.
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Hi Kitchenguy, decided on hacker kitchen, thanks to your advice. Now trying to decide between apollo quartz worktop vs the more expensive silestone. Any advice?
many thanks
Fiona
Fiona – not familiar with Apollo. I personally like Caesarstone colors…
kitchenguy
can you advise on worktops please. Want composite, should we so for silestone or apollo quartz… which is less expensive,
Many thanks
Fiona
Fiona – I’m not really familiar with Apollo, but from what I understand it is less expensive than Silestone.
Good luck,
kitchenguy
Can you advise on quartz worktops. undecided as to Silestone or a cheaper alternative from company called Apollo. Have you heard of these?
Many thanks
Fiona
Fiona – not familiar with Apollo. Sorry.
kitchenguy
Thanks, just read all your helpful comments. Not sure what to go for…. we feel that £3000 seems quite expensive for approx.
6 mtrs worktop…. one cut out polished for undermount sink, one taphole and one hob cut out. what do you think?
Fiona
That does seem high…
kitchenguy
we r looking for kitchen manufacturer from plywood we would like to represnt u in India
Smit – I need more info, to respond.
kitchenguy
Hi,
In the market for a decent german ktichen, but don’t want to pay too much….any ideas who I should go to? I am based in North West of England, UK….I would go to the extent of going to a company based abroad if it means me getting a quality kitchen are a much cheaper price!
mubs
Mubarak – I seriously doubt that you’ll get much cheaper price from an import, unless you’re going with a Chinese product…
kitchenguy
Hi Kitchen guy, thank you for providing such useful information.
we have a $35k budget for the entire kitchen including floors. We went to Leicht today and it was out of our budget. They have a step-down brand Nobilia, which you have mentioned on your blogs. We are concerned about the quality of this brand compared with that of Leicht. Can you please let tell us about Nobilia versus Leicht (we know one is custom and one is not, but we live in a Manhattan co-op and they are pretty standard so no need for custom. we are more concerned about the quality and durability)
Is it possible to replicate the quality with an IKEA kitchen? Is it worth paying more than 3x more for Nobilia?
THANKS!
DEREK
Derek – you get what you pay for… Nobilia is not as nice as Leicht and Ikea will not enable you to duplicate Nobilia’s kitchen…
Sorry,
kitchenguy
Hi! Great info here! I have a budget of €4000-€5000 (max) for a 4m kitchen. I have some offers from nobilia , nolte, venetta, stosa and one more Italian firm I cannot recall right now. Stosa and nolte are the most pricey. I think I like nolte most ,though nobilia has a kitchen that looks almost the same (grey colour) at around €4000. Which one of those firms do you suggest? Thank you in advance!
Steve – at this price, they are all very similar – just pay atrtention to the specs you’re getting (type of drawer, material of door, etc.) and make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Good luck,
kitchenguy
Hi, we have been shopping for a kitchen and are down to a choice between hacker and snaidero. We have installed hacker before but the specifications for carcasses, doors, inner linings and overall quality form snaidero look much better. If price was not a constraint, which do you think is a better quality product.
roopa
Roopa – they are both fine products. If you like one over the other, than go with it!
Good luck!
kitchenguy
Superb blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers?
I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option?
There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Thanks!
More to follow on my website page Things To Do In Cape Town
Brittany – Thanks for the kind words. Find something you’re passionate about and start clicking the keyboard…
Go with WordPress! It’s easy.
kitchenguy
Very great post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have truly loved
browsing your weblog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I’m hoping you write again soon!
Do any of these brands have showrooms in Shanghai China, and if so would you know the address?
I’m attending a trade show and would like to visit.
Cheers
MMD – you need to look up their web sites…
kitchenguy
Hi kitchen guy! I’ve seen a mobalpa kitchen I like but know nothing about the quality. How can I tell if it is a good quality kitchen or not? What questions should I ask? Another kitchen I have looked at boasts having 18 mm carcases. Is this a good sign of quality of build?
Jocelyn – Mobalpa is a good company – not very high end, but a good value. 18mm is pretty much a standard thickness.
kitchenguy
Dear Kitchen Guy, Im considering Nolte, Schmidt and Beckerman.Which one would you go with? ( considering quality and value for money)
PS I have a budget of 25000US
Thank you
g – This is a hard question, without a lot more info… Price all 3 and evaluate based on price and the designer/dealer you’ll be purchasing from.
kitchenguy