Danish kitchen company KVIK opens shop in the Philippines

TO MANY people, the kitchen is a working space where messes are to be made. To some, the kitchen is the home’s beating heart, where the household makes important connections.
KVIK (pronounced like “quick”) is a Danish furniture company that’s been around for about 30 years. While the company manufactures bathroom furniture and closets, one of its highlights are kitchen cabinets and countertops, as presented during the opening in its first store in the Philippines, in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, on Sept. 18.
The Nordic countries, including Denmark, are known for their combining a communion with nature with a highly sophisticated lifestyle. The result is a design aesthetic that is unobtrusive and highlights functionality. This is proven in the natural wood veneers combined with KVIK’s quiet, minimalist aesthetic.
Thorkild Madsen, KVIK’s Key Account Manager, told ����ý during the opening, “You can go to Italy, and they also have great design. But what I think is what makes Danish design more famous around the world is more [about] the functionality that’s been there — that it has to work as well.”
Iain Flitcroft, Managing Director of KVIK in Thailand, added, “A kitchen is a working environment, so it’s not a museum piece.” He emphasized the evolving role of the kitchen in the home: while it’s essentially a working space, children now do their homework on the island, while one of the parents works on preparing food, and another one checks their e-mail in the same space. “It needs to fulfill its purpose; it needs to reflect the lifestyle of the homeowner.”
KVIK offers 10- and 25-year guarantees, as well as an installation and maintenance services.
Meanwhile, Messrs. Flitcroft and Madsen highlighted the sustainability features of the company, such as gaining environmental certifications on every aspect of the supply chain, using quality recycled lumber for particle-board components, reducing carbon footprints during shipping, and heating the factory in Denmark (which produces 1,000 kitchen a week) with the company’s waste products.
Speaking about how the Danish concept fits into the Philippines, Mr. Flitcroft said, “People are more and more aware of international brands and international design concepts. As the market develops like that, the taste develops. The market moves towards understated elegance, minimalism; away from the ostentatious.”
“People can see that less is more.”
KVIK is located on the fourth floor of SM Megamall. — Joseph L. Garcia