• Help your customers imagine how that beautiful wine cabinet would look in their kitchen – so display them stocked with wine.


• Find out about the consumer’s lifestyle – how often do they buy wine, and do they require a wine cabinet to store wine for long periods of time? Are they interested in a drinks chiller to take the pressure off the refrigerator or do they want to create a ‘focus’ in the kitchen?


• Learn about wine and wine storage. • Don’t forget to point out to the energy rating of the cabinets. It is going to stay high on the consumers’ agenda, so make sure that your staff understands energy labels.


level of humidity with specially developed low vibration dampers to ensure undisturbed storage. These cabinets are engineered to ensure that the wine is matured to perfection and provide the optimum storage solution,” says Simona Bara.


“At the moment the under-counter sector of the market remains quite commodity driven. At GDHA we have purposely not branded our wine chillers so that they can be incorporated into any kitchen and appliance set up. There is limited product differentiation until you get to the premium brands,” explains GDHA’s Jon Brennan. GDHA’s drink cabinets start from just a 15cm wide wine chiller which holds seven bottles through to a 60cm 46 bottle capacity product and a 90cm drink cooler that takes 180 330ml bottles. At the other end, there are sophisticated wine cabinets “such as Whirlpool’s ARC229, that includes an electronic control system for a perfect


Whirlpool wine cellar with Fusion aesthetics


The Electrolux Professional Division supplies professional kitchens in Europe. “Professionals demand appliances that deliver outstanding results reliably and efficiently and make it easier for them to do their jobs. It’s only natural we adapt the same principles in product development. The Electrolux wine cellar (with 98 bottle capacity) has been designed to enhance and team up with other products from the new Inspiration range that combines stylish looks with great performance,” says Andrew Wasdell. Caple’s Wi6225 wine cabinet from the Sense range features dual zones and electronic temperature controls ensuring that cabinet will maintain exactly the right temperature for wine storage. Caple’s sales director Danny Lay says: “Holding an impressive total of 38 Bordeaux-style wine bottles, the Sense Wi6225 is perfect for all sorts of occasions.”


The Candy wine cooler CCVB 120


features UV protected glass which helps to preserve wine quality. With a twin-layer tinted glass and stainless steel finish it provides a perfect storage solution for households and wine connoisseurs alike.


The aesthetics Wine cabinets are aspirational products; their owners are proud of their drink collections and want to show them off in the best possible ‘housing’, so design is of key importance in this market. At a premium end, “when customers


are purchasing a wine cooler as part of a much larger kitchen refurb, the price of the individual models becomes less


Caple integrated wine cabinet WC6115


Candy wine cooler to be launched in 2012


important, says Electrolux’s Andrew Wasdell. He also argues that an increased interest in home entertaining leads to greater focus on how the kitchen looks, and there may be a demand for ‘hero’ appliances. “Integrated wine coolers are both practical and create a stunning focal point in the kitchen.”


Celebrating in style This product sector continues to grow not only because people choose to entertain more at home. As our life become more stressful and hectic, a growing number of us relax at home with a glass of wine after a busy day.


This summer will provide many opportunities for celebrations – with the Olympics, the Euro 2012 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – being the high profile ones. What a perfect timing to promote wine cabinets and drink chillers, even if the weather lets us down! ■


June 2012 The Independent Electrical Retailer 29


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