John McNeil Haus12 Interiors It's fantastic in Berlin, a really successful event! After the long Covid break, the reunion with the other partners plays a central role for me. We are a face-to-face business and the personal cooperation is a decisive key to success. I have definitely missed this close exchange in the past few years. Many of my colleagues feel the same and it’s good to meet them again. One of the highlights of the event? As I’m fond of music, I enjoyed the 12 Tenors very much. A great show! Berlin (kk). This year, the MHK partners were at last able to come together again in Berlin. The conditions could not have been better: Excellent business figures, enthusiastic participants and a varied conference program. All this accompanied by sunshine and agreeable early summer temperatures. The atmosphere among the guests was correspondingly good. Discover Germany’s capital: Berlin is definitely worth a visit Patrick McGrath Kube Kitchens & Interiors I'm a brand new member of MHK and have only joined in March this year. Therefore, it is also the first time that I am at the International MHK General Meeting in Berlin. For me, the event is very positive and impressive. The speakers have been very interesting and there was lots of learning.The exchange with the other partners is also very important for me as a newcomer to the association. I enjoy the sense of community, which has inspired me right from the beginning. Berlin (jp). The MHK Annual General Meeting traditionally starts with the MHK Media Talk, and this year was no different. After a very good year in 2022, CEO Volker Klodwig was also able to present positive growth figures for the first quarter of 2023 to the media representatives who had travelled from Germany and abroad. The national subsidiary MHK UK also made a decisive contribution to this success. The step across the English Channel in 2018 was a significant milestone in the history of the MHK Group - and a huge success story. Because "since then, MHK UK has grown continuously", emphasises MHK Export Manager Marcel Crezee. In 2022, growth was over 59 percent. The increasing number of shareholders and suppliers is particularly pleasing, which - as Crezee emphasises - is characterised by their high quality standards. With over 80 business partners and 50 suppliers, we are very well positioned in the UK. The British MHK subsidiary took account of the strong growth in December by expanding its sales team in the north of the country. Like everywhere else in Europe, trade and industry in the UK are feeling the effects of the difficult economic situation. With the strong figures as a basis, the team and shareholders are nevertheless positive about the future. The British shareholders were in a correspondingly good mood when they arrived at the international MHK Annual General Meeting in Berlin. They were looking forward to new inspiration, to meeting and exchanging ideas with colleagues, industry representatives and MHK service providers, as well as to the varied programme, which came to a festive conclusion with the Gala Evening on Saturday. One of the most important points of the three-day event was the shareholders’ meeting with the presentation of the 2022 annual figures and results. "Our figures are really very impressive," sums up David Morris, Sales Manager MHK United Kingdom. "This is due to your success and to a large extent to your daily commitment!" In addition, MHK UK again welcomed many new trade partners last year. "Together with our existing shareholders, this development is clearly having an impact on the supplier concentration model," he said, highlighting one of the most important meanings of the alliance group. True to the group's motto: With the power of the community to the success of the individual. MHK UK elects new advisory board Good vibrations MHK: Convincing performance in Berlin Shanti Panchani The Kitchen Consultancy I enjoy the International MHK General Meeting, it’s really good. A great opportunity to meet friends and colleagues and to see the suppliers. It’s difficult to say what has been the highlight so far. The ways of presenting yourself as successful business have been very interesting. Experiencing all this, I am proud to be a member of MHK. MHK helps with finances and in many other areas of business to be successful as a dealer. This provides security in these times of uncertainty. "The Most Beautiful Kitchen in Europe" honoured in ceremony Berlin (jp). There was much for Sarah Eynon, from Alistair Fleming Woodworks Ltd. in Lewes (Sussex, UK) to celebrate. Although her design just missed being chosen as "The Most Beautiful Kitchen in Europe 2023", as the designer of "The Most Beautiful Kitchen in the UK 2023", she is still a winner. The formal award ceremony reached its climax with the announcement of the winner of The Golden Triangle award. German sports presenter Katrin Müller-Hohenstein charmingly and wittily hosted the award ceremony. The event began with Germany’s most beautiful bathrooms. Master craftsman and YouTube influencer Marcel von Zons entered three nominees into the race. After the audience in the packed conference hall had cast their votes in the live ballot, the winners of the award for "Germany’s Most Beautiful Kitchen" were announced by said actor Henning Baum, the driving force behind the five kitchen designs. With Maria-Christin and Peter Schwarzkopf winning the title, the seventh and final national winner was at last made known. Now they, Sarah Eynon, and fellow award winners Katrien Lampers (Belgium), Enrico Fleuren (Netherlands), Anita Kieslinger and Nadine Killingseder (Austria), Aurélien Dornier (Switzerland), and Blanca Sánchez Pérez (Spain) were only one final ballot away from the crucial question – Who would take the European Cup home? For Nelson Müller, Michelin star holder and TV chef, and champion of the British kitchen design, the answer was clear from the outset: the title should go to the UK. And in this, he was to a certain extent proved right, since the kitchen has certainly won quite a few hearts. Sarah Eynon’s design combined classic style with high-class presentation, where the kitchen was conceived as a unified living space. In the black and white open-plan kitchen, the cooking takes place in the traditional way in a long line and on the French gas cooker, with meals being eaten at the spacious island which has seating for six and an integrated bottle cooler. One of the two single cupboards houses the coffee maker, while in the other, there is a breakfast bar complete with toaster. At teatime, or for watching the news, it’s easy to relocate to the sofa in front of the chimney, although the TV screen can also be viewed from the kitchen itself. An eye-catching feature is the lattice window behind the sink, which screens off a small room with a mini kitchen. The dark colour scheme means that it is scarcely visible from the outside.The finest country elements combine to form a harmonious composition. Berlin (jp). Germany’s capital city is always changing. Whenever you go to Berlin, there’s always something new to see. That’s why it’s always good to visit this city on the River Spree – and because of its many wonderful sights, of course. The guests at the MHK General Meeting at the weekend had the pleasure of experiencing these in person. Those who did not have entry to the closed shareholders’ meeting were able to take advantage of the alternative leisure programme on offer. Fascinating insights, unusual vistas and ultra-modern city squares awaited the visitors, on the Kieztour of Berlin’s different neighbourhoods, for example. The inquisitive explorers were taken to the more out-of-the-way places in the city, far from the tourist hotspots. In Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Neukölln, guests were given an inside look behind the scenes, into the places where the ‘real’ Berliners live and came to know and appreciate a rather different aspect of the city, but still with its special flair. The many Spätis – the late-night corner shops that provide for the locals’ needs – and the lively atmosphere on the streets were particularly fascinating for those on the tour. Berlin, with its 70 or so shopping centres, is an absolute paradise for shoppers. The leisure programme gave guests the opportunity to visit that bastion of shopping delight – the famous KaDeWe store on Wittenbergplatz. This luxury shopping emporium opened in 1907 and has a vast range of boutiques and brand names, large and small, to entice the visitor. Not forgetting the delicatessen department, where guests were also able to experience the culinary delights of Berlin. So, the Saturday afternoon excursion became a convivial shopping trip. Of course, the occasional souvenir of the city and the MHK General Meeting was essential, as was a little relaxation after the retail therapy was complete. The many colourful cafés and the warm, early summer sunshine offered a great opportunity to leave one’s cares behind for a while. Whether the Kieztour or the shopping, everyone agreed at the end that it had been an unforgettable afternoon, with a wealth of new insights and fascinating information. And somehow, the capital of Germany managed to make the MHK motto its own and impressed our guests with "The Difference". With her creative design concept, Sarah Eynon not only inspired the people in her home country but also the audience in Berlin. SUNDAY, 4TH JUNE 2023 Page 7
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