With a £250K investment, the innovative showroom, based in the Wakefield Road Retail Park, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, is designed to showcase a modern way of living with kitchen products, open plan areas and storage solutions alongside living and utility space options all displayed in a real setting.

Owned by business partners Simon Pochin and Kim Bowers, Mobalpa Huddersfield provides a professional kitchen design and installation service, with full project management. With a background in bathroom showrooms and HR, Simon and Kim are working with an experienced in-house designer and a trainee, and have plans to continue recruiting.

Turning an interest and love of the brand into a new business opportunity Simon (Honley) and Kim (Mirfield) will offer consumers a complete kitchen design and installation service.

Simon said: “I was originally considering opening a bathroom showroom due to my experience, but when I started to do my research Mobalpa was one of the first names that came up. Having lived in France for 20 years this was a name I was very familiar with and was immediately interested in. The brand, its quality, product range and overall ethos, really appealed to me.”

Kim said: “I had never considered the prospect of opening a kitchen showroom. However, Simon’s passion for the brand and venture got me interested and once I went with him to have a look at Mobalpa Warrington I fell in love and thought to myself I really want to do this. 16 months of training, learning and planning later and here we are!”

Mobalpa manufactures its kitchens in the French Alps with designs including innovative storage solutions, concealed cabinets and an array of finishes, textures and colours.

The Huddersfield showroom features ranges including Tallys white gloss and a working Melia kitchen, which can be used for cooking and baking demonstrations.

Kyle Whittle, Mobalpa National Franchise Development Manager, commented: “Simon and Kim’s passion for the brand is clear to all of those who speak to them and we are excited to welcome them to the team. The Mobalpa Huddersfield showroom is our first in Yorkshire and we look forward to introducing our French kitchen furniture brand to the area.”

Mobalpa is planning further growth across the UK in 2017 with an expected four retail units in the pipeline.