NEWS | Round-up
• Distributor PJH is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It was founded in 1972 by Peter J Hopkinson who started out supplying local plumbers in Bolton. A 50th anniversary logo has been designed to mark the occasion.
• The new 120-page, full colour 2022 brochure from Crown Imperial has a new landscape format and features new collections and innovations. Each range is showcased over four to six pages and the pullout centre section provides a fi nish selector.
• Haier has appointed TV chef and restaurateur Nisha Katona as a brand ambassador. The partnership will see her promote Haier’s products across its portfolio of connected ovens, hobs, hoods and refrigeration.
• HPP’s semi-retired transport manager Pete Greenwood volunteers each Friday at the Oldham food bank and HPP is planning to open a collection point for staff and customers at its Scottfi eld Road trade counter. Greenwood has worked for HPP for 21 years.
• Compusoft has launched its Room Survey app that can create accurate 3D plans using a tablet and laser rangefi nder, which can then be loaded directly into its Winner Flex or Innoplus packages. The company says it can create a plan and inventory in just fi ve minutes.
• Premium Italian appliance brand Bertazzoni is celebrating 140 years in business. It currently sells in more than 60 markets around the world, including the UK, Australia and China, and produces more than 200,000 appliances a year. It has also unveiled new additions to its Professional, Master and Heritage series range cookers.
• Mira Showers has launched its free InstallerPRO app for independent trade professionals, which provides technical support, business development tools and professional training. It also offers merchandise and has a built-in barcode scanner to make registering products easier.
• Appliance brand AEG has gained certifi cation for several programs across its appliance range from the Swissatest test centre. The certifi cation affi rms that the chosen programs offer outstanding effi ciency in the removal of bacteria and viruses.
• Bathroom brand BC Designs has released its new 144-page brochure for 2022. It features several new product collections and is available in print or a downloadable PDF format from its website.
6
NEWS IN BRIEF Ex-BSH retail boss ‘disappointed’ in
PAUL TYLER (pictured), BSH’s former retail channel director and now CEO of buying group CIH, has said that he is ‘disappointed’ in manu acturers that choose to sell direct to consumers. Tyler, who left BSH in December last
year, was answering a general question about manufacturers selling direct at a conference held on April 5 by electrical retailers’ association Retra.
“I am still disappointed,” he said. “It’s
the journey they have decided to make. I have taken more phone calls from members in recent weeks on this topic than on any other. Our members have grown these brands over the years. [Manufacturers] develop awe - some products and what our members are great at is taking those products and helping customers filter down the ones that are right for them. They take the consumer on a journey. I am not sure how many consumers would choose to buy from manufacturers.” Direct sales to consumers will, Tyler said, put a “strain on the relationship
between retailers and manufacturers” and he believes they need to be transparent in their communication. “I am encouraging our members to have dialogues with manufacturers,” he said. “Working together is key still. We have heard that there are manufacturers who are maybe not taking such a reasonable or rational approach to addressing this. It will be interesting to see how members respond to that.” Tyler’s comments come just weeks
brands selling direct
round-up
after Gunjan Srivastava, the UK CEO of his former company BSH, revealed in an exclusive interview with kbbreview that the company was seriously exploring direct consumer sales. However, in that interview, Srivastava said that the intention was not to compete directly with its retail partners. “Direct to consumer is something that is a global strategic priority for us. It’s in our vision and we have looked closely at that in the last year to 18 months,” he said. “But, for us, direct to consumer is not about us going out there and competing with retailers, the idea is to be closer to the consumer and understand the entire journey as much as possible.
“Our going business-to-consumer does not mean any reduction or rethink in what we do [with retailers]. Most consumers want to shop in a multi-brand environment, and they’ll continue to do that, but some of them might want to shop in an exclusive environment and that’s what this will provide to them.”
Leave the selling to us, say retailers
RETAILERS AT the recent Retra conference spoke out against the threat from manufacturers selling products direct to consumers.
The electrical retailers association, celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, has long campaigned against manufacturers selling direct and in his opening speech, Retra chief executive Howard Saycell said: “Let me be clear. It is entirely any brand or suppliers’ choice whether they have a direct relationship with the consumer. “We believe that manufacturing and retailing are very different skill sets. At their best, they complement one another, ensuring the best possible experience for the consumer. The best possible brand experience is through quality retail, educating the consumer, identifying needs, recommending the right product, delivering, and installing and then looking after the consumer if anything goes wrong. We are not naive enough to think that brands will reverse their decisions to go direct and that more brands will not follow in this direction.”
He concluded: “The challenge we would pose for the UK management is how to protect their current routes to market and ensure as little conflict as possible. The independents can cope with competitors and have done so since the birth of the industry. A brand selling direct is just another competitor. The key to everyone having a sustainable future is that we are all competing on a level playing field.” A panel discussion at the Retra conference gave retailers a chance to share their thoughts on this general topic. Paul Mead, MD of Michael R Peters in Bedford, said: “Manufacturers should manufacture and retailers should retail. We are the solution providers.” Martin Jukes, head of retail at Avensys in Crawley, added: “It needs to be a level playing field. If a manufacturer is offering something, that’s fine. We need to be able to offer it
at the same price and still have the display discounts, to put it on show for customers to touch and feel, not go online like I saw yesterday with one white-goods manufacturer offering 25% off if they bought three appliances and it was cheaper to do that than buy from us. That’s not right.” Rounding off the discussion, Paul Giles, MD of Snellings near Norwich, was also outspoken about selling direct. He said: “Suppliers undercutting us online is totally out of order. They are getting the retail margin – that’s not their margin. If they are going to use our showrooms, they need us to promote their brand. How can you spend big money on something if you haven’t seen it somewhere? We are being used as the showroom for their online offering. That’s where I think we need to draw the line.”
Lending his support to these views on a separate discussion panel at the conference, Steve Jones, MD of buying group Sirius, said: “Manufacturers need to be more transparent in what they are doing and I hope they don’t forget how independent retailers have helped build up their brands over the years. If you lose customer service, you lose the value in your brand.”
· May 2022
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