“I looked at quite a few other brands but Schmidt ticked the boxes for me”

Agron Llupa, Schmidt franchisee for Beaconsfield, reveals what or who, got him into the kitchen and bathroom business

As a former accountant turned property developer, Agron Llupa is no stranger to making big career decisions. When fitters he used in his development days raved about Schmidt, he knew there was something special about it.

“They really liked the quality and the made-to-measure aspect of the products,” he says, “so I got to know a little bit more about Schmidt and what it offered. It was a natural move to look into the home furniture business.”

As he found out more about the franchise opportunity, he knew it felt right. He explains: “Schmidt came across to me as not just a manufacturer but as a retailer as well.

“I looked at quite a few other brands but Schmidt ticked the boxes for me. it’s a good business to be involved in. If you look at the home improvement industry, it’s very much growing at the moment. It’s a good time to join.” 

Agron has been impressed with the level of support Schmidt provides for new franchisees. Not only did he receive help sourcing a site for his showroom, the franchisor also gave him eight weeks of training, indoctrinating him on everything from the day-to-day running of the business to design trends dominating the UK market. 

“Schmidt goes beyond a lot of other high-end competitors,” he says. “We have a lot of flexibility for doing the sizes we want, and a wider range of options. 

“The company is also run in a very sustainable way. The chipboard and the wood and raw materials come from an area an hour away from the factory. It’s a very sustainable, natural product, and all those factors put it above a lot of competitors in the industry.”

Just starting his journey with Schmidt, Agron is already smiling. “It’s been good,” he says, “we’ve had a decent amount of footfall coming in, we’ve had quite a lot of leads coming in as well and we had our first sale last week with hopefully another two this week. 

“We’ve done a few discoveries and presentations on top, so it’s looking promising. And it makes you feel you’ve achieved something. You come into the showroom and everything you see on display is something you’ve had an input on. I feel at home. It’s fantastic.”