the BIG interview


communicate benefits, engage with people and show them what they can do.” Avensys technical director Alaric Wood gives


me a tour. He explains: “The point of the smart home


is not to say you have to spend a shedload of money and for us to install it; all these products can be run standalone and separate, with their individual apps. But if you have lots of products, you’ve got hundreds of apps, so it’s about bringing that together. Lots of Internet of Things (IoT) products, customers just get one, take it away and do what they want with it, but we can add the intelligence that brings it all together into a single interface.” Products range from smart lighting to


security, to consumer electronics, appliances, even technology to run a bath to a certain temperature from your phone or tablet. “Having it all here lets people imagine when they can do,” Alaric says. “First, you have convenience. So with the Yale smart lock, you can use a code to open the door, and program other codes on the device itself for other users. However, if you integrate that with Control4, you can create a new user on the app, set a PIN, set restricted access, it updates, and it’s programmed. Then delete users once it’s done. That’s a lot easier than doing it on the keypad itself. “You can hook it onto a fingerprint scanner


too. My right finger scans and opens the door. But I scan my left finger, and it turns the lights on. You can set it up to do whatever you want. Take a cinema room setup; if I scan my finger it unlocks all the content, but for the kids, if they scan their fingers, it can just unlock the content you want them to access. “It’s taking that intelligence and bringing


it together. Customers might not have the budget to do everything at once, so they can buy standalone products, but there’s so much more you can do.” He adds: “Most retailers, like us, sell from a standpoint of controlling audio visual products. But for most people in the market for smart home, that’s an added bonus; it’s heating, lighting and security, controlling the whole environment in a simple way, that really appeals.” Everything in the Smart Home, including


furnishings and furniture, Avensys sells, but one of the major advantages, Markus reveals, has been a move away from commoditisation. “The conversation we have up here is not,


‘How much is that TV?’,” he says. “It’s, ‘I want that’.” Alaric agrees: “We have different sizes of ceiling speakers installed up here. If you’re downstairs people just look at the price, but when they come up here and listen to it, they go, ‘Right, this is the bedroom, this in the living room’. So for things like that, this space is really useful. “Everyone who has experienced the demonstration space downstairs, then the


smart home version up here and finally the theatre room have all upped their budget and gone away to think about what they want now they know what is possible; it’s more about what they’re getting than what they’re spending. It’s the experience. “When people really buy into it, it’s great. Because we’re not just box shifting, we’re helping add value with our expertise.”


Everyone who has


experienced the smart home have all upped their budget and gone away to think about what they want now they know what is possible


The space is also used for events, with


a kitchen suite allowing for cooking demonstrations. “Rather than a dedicated cooking theatre, we can move the furniture out, and have it as more of a multipurpose area, so we can do cooking demos, but also sell the AV products,” Markus explains. Alaric adds: “We also film the cookery demos,


split screened up here, but also pipe the signal down to the TVs downstairs in the store so people can see it, and think, ‘Oh that looks interesting, when is the next one?’ “You have people in this space, and we’re not standing here saying, ‘Buy a projector’. But while they’re here experiencing the cinema or the hi- fi, they’re in this environment and getting a feel for all the things they could do.” With a Roomba iRobot robot vacuum


emerging from a wall panel to clean the carpet, hidden wall speakers providing wide- angle audio, window blinds lowering on


demand, lights dimming and a 65in Panasonic TV dropping down from the ceiling, it is an undeniably engaging experience. “It’s trying to get people enthusiastic,” Markus


says. “Referrals are a huge part of this business, where people say, ‘You’ve got to go and have a look at this’. “With smart home, some of the best


showrooms in the industry are in central London, by appointment only, so Joe Public will never be allowed to go in there. We wanted it as part of the shop, so people can walk around, have a look. “A customer can come in, see what they’d


love, maybe some of what they can’t afford, but engage with the technology, buy the products, take them home and have a play with them. We can work with architects and builders, manage a solution, or help along the way with advice, and get some product sales at the end. We’re not fussy; there’s the cherry at the top of the cake with niche, high end installs where budget isn’t an issue, but we don’t mind helping the customer through the whole journey, whether we’re just supplying a few bits or doing a whole install. You do still get the odd customer coming in thinking, ‘Oh I can probably buy that online’, but we try and engage with the customer so they have that experience.” He continues: “Ultimately, everything with


smart home is about quality of life. There’s a smart tap on the bath in the smart home – get the app up, fill bath, 23 degrees C, done. The amount of people who say, ‘I want that’... Because they’ve all had that experience, too hot, too cold, while you’re running about after the three year old trying to get them ready for the bath. And it’s fun to play with, we love technology, and it drives us to come into work.


Showing off smart technologies in a home environment lets Avensys focus on benefits and the experience October 2016 www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk | 11


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