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Let’s be under no illusion that 2022 is going to be a very challenging year’


Welcome to the summer edition of Alert magazine. I hope you find it interesting and helpful to your business. I’ll start with a brief reflection on the Retra Conference, which took place on Tuesday April 5. It was a great disappointment to me personally that I was


unable to attend. I tested positive for Covid-19 on the morning of the day before. While the current rules would have allowed me to attend, I didn’t think it would be fair to expose the whole industry to coronavirus, so I attended remotely – the wonders of modern technology.


For further information please contact:


Howard Saycell Chief Executive Retra


howard.saycell@retra.co.uk 01234 269110 www.retra.co.uk


Howard Saycell remains cautiously optimistic for the rest of 2022, but warns that financial and global issues won’t make it easy for businesses and consumers.


Significant Many of us have had significant increases in both our home and business expenditure. I am hearing some horror stories from members on the costs of energy in their businesses. It is not unusual for costs to be trebling. As we know, domestic supply is protected to some degree by the price cap, but business is not. We are lobbying the Government hard that they must do something to help businesses who simply cannot afford the kind of price increases being demanded by the market. If this were the only additional cost being experienced by


members, it would be bad enough, but this is one of many. The rise in the minimum wage (and the differentials), increased NI contributions for employers and staff, a rise in business rates, the rising cost of filling up vehicles and, of course, increasing interest rates all play their part. On the domestic front, we are seeing one in five households either in food poverty or worried they are close to it. So, let’s be under no illusion that 2022 is going to be a very challenging year.


Mood “


Having said all of that, the mood at both the Retra Conference and Euronics Showcase was one of optimism. The statistics from GfK show a strong performance from independents over the past couple of years – holding or increasing share in many key categories, with numbers well above 2019’s. When you look at the numbers in your own business, the best


There was a great deal of optimism at both the Retra Conference and the Euronics Showcase, even though none of us are immune to global issues. It was wonderful to see the industry coming together


There is a review of the event and the highly successful 80th


birthday celebrations on the evening before in this edition of Alert. After so long without the ability to socialise, it was wonderful to see so many people at both events. I only wish I could have been there. On April 24-25 we attended the Euronics Showcase at the NEC in Birmingham. This was again an event which had been postponed for some time due to the pandemic. Congratulations are due to the Euronics team for hosting a very good event. It was well attended by both members and manufacturers.


Once again, it was wonderful to see the industry coming together and returning to something a little more ‘normal’. A big well done to Paul Tyler and the team in Andover. As 2022 progresses, it does seem to be living up to many


people’s predictions of being a “difficult year.” There was a great deal of optimism at both the Retra Conference


and the Euronics Showcase, even though none of us are immune to global issues. Sadly, the war in Ukraine shows no sign of abating soon. Inflation is seriously on the rise, and we now face the real possibility of ‘stagflation’, something not experienced in the UK since the 1970s.


comparison to make is against 2019, before the whole world turned on its head. Even though quite a few members are saying they are down against 2020 and 2021, they are invariably some way ahead of their 2019 figures. This once again leads me to say that I am cautiously optimistic about the prospects for our industry. There were some wonderfully innovative new products on


display at the Euronics Showcase, which will no doubt entice the consumer to think about either investing in new technology or upgrading their current appliances.


Sustainability Sustainability is now a big topic, not just in our industry but across the whole economy. Products that use less energy, water and chemicals are going to attract the attention of the discerning consumer. Don’t forget that although personal finances are stretched for


many, there are still millions of households sat on billions that they saved during the pandemic.


Invest Even though we are now competing once again with other sectors for discretionary spend, there is still a big case to be made for the consumer to invest in their home appliances. I do hope that you will manage to take a holiday during the summer and that the weather will be kind to us. Some of our members and staff have worked incredibly hard over the past couple of years, with many taking little if any time out. For those of you that haven’t taken much time out I hope you have a well-earned break. I think you deserve it.


From the CEO 3


From the CEO


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