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Grow the market
Despite the recessionary pressure, the domestic
appliances market still has considerable growth
potential. Douglas Herbison, chief executive of
AMDEA, suggests where there are opportunities
for future sales.
Regular readers of IER magazine may look through the pages of IER magazine calculated to amount to around 20% of
recall that in early 2007 I wrote a piece and you will see the range of features now household waste. At a time when
entitled “Grow the Market”. It referred to available. householders are under ever-increasing
the need to look at the broad range of There are, of course, other home pressure to minimise and separate their
items which fall into the general category appliances where market penetration is waste, and often have to wait 14 days for
of domestic appliances. In some cases, much lower, and opportunities for future the dustman, a waste disposal unit is an
the market penetration of these products sales are considerable. absolute boon. No more smelly
in the UK was quite low. In other words These are products which can deliver overflowing bins in the kitchen and plastic
there was tremendous potential to ‘grow considerable lifestyle and environmental bags ripped apart by birds and animals in
the market’. benefits to consumers. They have ‘green the back yard.
It has to be said that in early 2007 credentials’, something that is of greater Many local authorities have woken up
Britain was still in a housing boom. The concern to consumers today than was to the fact that waste disposal units can
government had also publicly endorsed perhaps the case three years ago. play an important part in helping them
the need for a substantial increase in One of them is the dishwasher. Not meet their required limits on waste going
housing stock. Its projections showed exactly a new product but one which so into landfill. Failure to do so will result in
that between then and 2015, over far is found in only 30% of UK homes, fines. Moreover, there is a greater
200,000 new houses and flats would be compared to 50% in some European awareness of the costs in terms of carbon
built. countries and in the US. Therefore we emissions from transportation of waste for
More households would mean more need to actively promote the proven disposal. And not only do waste disposal
domestic appliances, though how many environmental and cost-saving benefits of units save handling and landfill costs, but
of the new appliances required would be this product to the consumer. Through they actually increase the quality of
sourced through retailers and how many CECED, AMDEA’s European Trade sewage and allow it to be returned to the
through house developers was difficult to Association, we have accumulated land. Throughout Europe there is a move
say. laboratory data comparing water, energy towards large-scale use of these
and detergent use by dishwashers products, eg in Sweden’s capital city
Market opportunities against washing by hand, and the Stockholm.
The UK housing market looks very dishwashers come out on top. So let’s get The market penetration of waste
different now. But the opportunities to out and sell these products as something disposal units in the UK is only around
grow the market are still considerable, which will do away with those unwanted 5%, compared to 50% in the US. This is a
especially for those products where after-dinner chores as well as helping the product which is still relatively unknown to
market penetration is still low. environment. much of the British public – what a sales
The main focus for many manufacturers opportunity!
and retailers will remain what we might Opportunities in waste As I remarked back in 2007, with the
call the ‘mainstream’ domestic appliances disposal right sales and marketing approach,
– washing machines, fridges and freezers, Another undersold product is the waste dishwashers and waste disposal units are
kettles, vacuum cleaners and suchlike. disposal unit. Relatively simple to install, desirable commodities; an essential part
There are many opportunities here, these fit into the drain line under the sink of the modern home and kitchen. Good
particularly where much effort has been and grind food waste into small particles for lifestyle and the environment. And this
put into making and selling modern, that are flushed into the wastewater is just as true in today’s difficult economic
efficient and attractive products. Take a system with cold water. Food waste is conditions as it was in the ‘boom years’.a73
20 TheIndependentElectricalRetailer February 2010
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