The business idea took root when Allen Lombard turned his love for all things D.I.Y into a business and, along with friend Richard Baker, commenced production in May of 1992 in a small factory in Fontainebleau.

At the outset, the plan was to manufacture kitchen cupboards as component kits and sell them in the form of “flat-packs” to the DIY-market.

In January 1993 they rented a 350m2 unit at a factory in Strydom Park, while retaining the showroom in Fontainebleau. Today, the entire factory in Strijdom Park is owned by Easylife Kitchens. The business is managed by two dedicated franchisors, one who manages the entire Cape region and one who manages the rest of the country. The two factories are located in Johannesburg (Gauteng) and Bellville (Western Cape) and supply over 30 franchises countrywide.

The CVs of the directors and the current executive team are published in our Full Disclosure Document. It might however be worth mentioning that the group majority shareholder and Managing Director of the Johannesburg region has been with the company for over 25 years.

There are four main areas that set us apart.

The first would be that we have two full-time training managers, with dedicated training facilities; one based in Gauteng and one in the Western Cape.

The second would be our franchise model where the store owner ensures the best service delivery to our customers, and the franchisees’ collective knowledge and experience is shared with the group.

Thirdly our marketing definitely sets us apart due to the size of our company, and last but not least, our association with the Italtile Group who have a shareholding of over 25% in Easylife Kitchens Management (Pty) Ltd.