February 2018
ertonline.co.uk
‘Magimix is the
Rolex of food processors’
Steve Punter, managing director of Magimix UK, tells Sean Hannam why he feels privileged to work for the premium SDA brand and how he’s passionate about spreading the word to retailers and consumers
W hen Steve Punter got the job as
managing director of Magimix UK, he went back to his roots in more ways than one. Based at the premium French small appliance brand’s offices in an historic townhouse in the Surrey commuter-belt town of Godalming, the role saw him return to the area where he was born and grew up, and to the SDA sector, which was where he cut his teeth in the electrical industry. “It sounds corny, but years ago, I remember looking at the nameplate on the front of the Magimix building and thinking, ‘what a cool place to have a head office’,” he tells ERT. “When I was 15, my first job was working in the kitchen of a hotel that’s just up the road – my French colleagues from Magimix stay there when they’re visiting the UK. I had to peel a lot of potatoes using a Robot Coupe food processor [which is the commercial side of Magimix] – it saved me hours of work. I told the president of Magimix that story and I think it made an impression! “I was born and bred in Godalming – after working in and around the area, I went out to Hong Kong and worked for Philips for four years.
I had reached a junction in my life and then I got a phone call saying there was an opportunity at Magimix. They dropped the G word – ‘Godalming’ – and I thought, ‘that sounds amazing’.”
Responsibility
Mr Punter started working at Magimix in November 2016. He says: “They were looking for someone to provide a long-term input into the brand and I was looking to re-establish myself back in the UK. There was a marriage of interests and given my background – I’ve worked in the SDA business in the past – they felt that I had something to contribute. When I was at Groupe SEB, I launched steam generator irons and also Nespresso with Krups. I also had responsibility for SDA at Philips – I was on the sales side when juicing was big business. I then transitioned over to consumer electronics at Philips.”
So, how does it feel to be back in Godalming and in SDA?
“It feels fantastic. I’ve joined a company that has
pure integrity. It’s a privilege to work for Magimix – there aren’t many companies like it in the UK
or the world. Magimix is family-owned and we’re all about longevity – that’s what our strategy has to be. Longevity is about providing someone with something that they will find useful for the rest of their life. If you don’t underpin that with your strategy, then you’re confusing the customer. “I
think of Magimix as the Rolex of food
processors – our products are desirable, emotional and lifelong. Once someone owns a Magimix, they say, ‘I love it’ – it turns into a personal and emotional thing. When I meet high-profile people like Mary Berry, the late Antonio Carluccio or The Hairy Bikers and say I work for Magimix, their eyes literally light up – they are filled with happiness. It’s gold dust and it brings so much excitement and opportunity for us as a brand. We don’t exploit it, but we try to leverage it to bring our products to market. “The consumer reviews and the customer feedback that we get all the time tell us that people love our products and they desire them. My job is easy – it’s just spreading the word in the UK. The trouble is that the market is very fragmented – how do we get a single message across in a market that’s also quite noisy? “We have to cut through that noise and be consistent, but it’s fun. We’re working with new social media channels, building up our fan base and looking at getting involved with more cookery schools to expand the understanding of how to use a Magimix. We also want to tie in with more independent shops. If they have demonstration areas, we can look to put on evenings. The products sell themselves – I just need to bring people in touch with them. “We’re connecting with influencers to help
show how easy our food processors are to use – it creates an emotional connection.” He adds: “Are retailers interested in selling lots of
stuff, lots of times, or are they interested in selling one expensive product once? We have a 30-year guarantee on our motor.
It’s like buying a car
that’s never going to go wrong – you might need to replace the tyres and the windscreen wipers once in a while, but the engine is good for life. We are about selling a premium product to the right customer and making them delighted with it.”
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