This summer, importer/manufacturer Kyoto took its UK stockholding capacity to a new level, building a £2m warehouse to absorb the company’s “exponential growth” – but nothing worth having comes easy, discovered Paul Farley when he visited Nick Cancea (founder and MD) and Paul Little (sales and marketing director) to see it for himself …
Sometimes history catches up with you. In 1975, a local farmer was ploughing his field near the village of Water Newton when he uncovered a hoard of 4th Century Roman silver. The find, which comprised 27 silver vessels, crockery and religious tokens, and one gold plaque, was likely buried by an inhabitant of the nearby Roman town of Durobrivae long ago.
It was a notable discovery – yet, in their unearthing several articles were damaged by the farmer’s plough, lending weight to the feeling that sites of potential archaeological interest should be approached with caution.
This can mean a significant expense for anyone wishing to build on land which may conceal historical secrets – which Nick Cancea discovered to his frustration when he began adding a new 25,000ft2warehouse to his facility in Deeping St James.
Capacity at the site in the Lincolnshire countryside had been expanded previously – from 30,000ft2 to 45,0000ft2 in 2003 – and this new build would add 2200 more pallet spaces to Kyoto’s stockholding capacity, better enabling it to fufil growing demand.
Thankfully, while it slowed the build considerably and incurred eye-watering costs, the mandatory archaeological survey only unearthed a few articles of historical interest, and the expansion continued. At its close, the operation saw over 1,500 pallets moved over from Kyoto’s former warehouse in nearby Stamford over just four weeks – a mammoth effort, and a testament to Kyoto’s hard-working team and contractors.
Today, the finishing touches are being put in place in the building’s reception area, the racking behind it packed with furniture ready to dispatch.
Flexible friends
When your business model promises true flexibility, that vast, efficient stockholding capacity is key. As Kyoto Futons (still its full name), Nick’s business once manufactured 2,500 futons each week, steadily branching into imports as demand for them waned. He says they were the main UK-made product line for some customers – yet the competitiveness of Chinese-made product proved irresistible, and, in the early ’90s, Nick started feeling out new manufacturing partners.
Kyoto still makes futons and sofabeds on-site, but the business is now heavily import-dominated. The business holds around £2m of stock in the UK at any one time – covering around 75% of its offer – with a further £450k on the water.
It operates through three distinct channels – MTO, from stock (direct to the retailer or end-consumer, with 24-48 hour dispatch), and full container FOB. A new ERP system implemented during the pandemic provides easy visibility of Kyoto’s live stock feed, updated minute by minute if the customer wishes.
Nick still goes out to visit his partner factories in China for 15-16 weeks each year, while Kyoto’s head of product and junior buyer add further ‘boots on the ground’. Having worked with some of those factories for more than 12 years, Nick says China’s furniture manufacturers have a “will do, can do” attitude, and offer a huge breadth of choice.
“We don’t walk into factories and pick things out,” he explains. “We lead the conversation. That might mean taking our own fabrics to multiple factories, looking for options to cover all the bases.”
As someone who also manufactures product in the UK, Nick is keenly aware of the criticisms often levelled at the quality of imported goods – and says they could not be further than the truth, in his experience. Increasingly, Kyoto’s partners are SEDEX audited. Their raw materials can be traced to source, and in their hunger to serve the UK customer, they generally fall in line with the wider sustainability agenda. To cap it off, all product is certified, and inspected by trusted QC teams in China.
In all, Kyoto’s ‘curated’ portfolio comprises 644 products (both imported and MTO). It’s a compelling offer.
“Customers also benefit from our in-house marketing services and online assets, and can develop their own designs with us, helping them differentiate their offer,” explains Paul Little, who was hired earlier this year to expand Kyoto’s presence and customer base.
“But our flexibility is where we really shine. A retailer with several stores might buy some containers from us, but if certain lines sell really well, and they’re after a few more specific models, we’ll do what we can to help them out. And we can react to demand even if the customer hasn’t made a huge commitment beforehand. Basically, we’re flexible enough to pivot based on the customer’s needs.”
Nick cuts in: “And we’re fantastic at what we do!”
Back to beds
Kyoto’s product range has gone far beyond futons. In recent history, the supplier has been best known for its sofabeds (winning several Furniture News Readers’ Choice Awards accolades in that category), and its thriving accent chair range. It was also making strong inroads with beds and bed frames, yet staffing changes and other priorities meant much of that offer was shelved – until now.
“The business has been through a period of exponential growth,” Paul explains, “and we’ve had to fulfil customers’ needs first. Nick has invested a huge amount in the building, in new systems and people, and a complete rebrand, and with that, our partnerships have become even stronger – meaning higher turnover and greater buying power, which means we can offer customers even more choice. But we definitely need to be back in beds.”
A bed industry veteran, Paul is looking forward to relaunching Kyoto’s bedstead line – including bed frames and ottomans – at the Bed Show this month, followed by an expanded upholstered offer.
“We’re bringing great-value product, with excellent delivery options, to Telford this year (stand D30),” he says, “and we’re taking our marketing support to a new level, so make sure you pay us a visit.”
Read the rest of the interview in September's issue.
