How Tom Howley Built a £30M Kitchen Business | Ex-COO Reveals Everything
Most independent kitchen businesses believe growth comes from selling more kitchens. They’re wrong. In this episode I’m joined by Michael Cowell, former COO of Tom Howley, who helped scale one of Britain’s best-known luxury kitchen brands from a single showroom into a £20M+ business. We break down the operational systems that made that growth possible, including: • Why defining your product is more important than offering endless choice • The marketing metrics every kitchen business should track • How Tom Howley standardised training across multiple showrooms • The psychology behind helping customers make buying decisions • Why reducing product choice actually increases sales • The Order Book Value metric almost nobody in the KBB industry tracks • Managing manufacturing delays, cashflow and production capacity • Building systems that scale without sacrificing quality If you own a kitchen, bedroom or bathroom business and want to build something that grows beyond you, this episode is packed with practical lessons from someone who’s actually done it. Subscribe for more interviews, business strategy and real-world advice for ambitious KBB business owners.