19,20 OVIA INTERVIEW:Layout 1 15/12/2020 19:02 Page 19 Interview Teamwork & technology
2020 was a challenging year for business at every level. A year on from leading lighting brand Ovia’s launch as a dedicated, independent company, EW editor Bryony Andrews speaks to sales director Mike Collins.
For those who are new to Ovia, could you provide a brief overview of your product and service offering? Our aim from the outset was to bring to the professional electrical industry a vastly extended range of high quality products that are very competitively priced and available exclusively through the reliable wholesale channel. These include domestic, commercial, industrial, utility, amenity, floodlighting, and emergency lighting, plus a range of lighting control solutions. We also offer a free design service to provide expertise in choosing the right products and solutions for a proposed scheme.
In your opinion, what are the top trends driving lighting innovation? The feedback we get from our engagement with contractors, consistently highlights their need for lighting products and solutions that are quick and easy to install. As far as technology goes, we are seeing more uptake and demand for fittings that combine a number of features in one, such as CCT and multi-current and multi-wattage.
2020 has not been the year that any of us expected. One year from your launch as a separate company, have your expectations for Ovia been met? As a business we have been fortunate to have ridden the storm so far. We made the decision to get all our sales managers back early from furlough and out on the road and interacting with customers remotely – and that
has really paid off. We have exceeded our expectations for the first year as ●Continued over
What does a typical day look like for you as Ovia's sales director? In short, I am very hands on, and I will get in involved in everything; helping to select the range of products; developing the teams that will sell the products and provide internal infrastructure to ensure we deliver a great after care service. As the Sales Director my focus is to build the best lighting teams that are dedicated to providing the highest level of service to all our customers and to continue to strengthen the OVIA brand.
What is your background in the industry? What have been some of your career highlights? The electrical industry is in my blood. My family have run an electrical contracting business for as long as I remember. I got my first taste at the age of 13 with a two week work placement at a large electrical wholesaler in Kent and was offered a job there on leaving school. I’ve worked my way up from there, through various sales roles to the position of sales director with a leading lighting manufacturer. One of my biggest career highlights is probably heading up Ovia and being part of the highly respected Scolmore Group.
What's been the most important industry lesson you have learned in your career so far? The most important industry lesson I’ve learned has been in the last year since joining OVIA and the Scolmore Group – and that’s the importance of teamwork. There is a phrase that I use a lot - don’t underestimate the value of a good team. You don’t become successful on your own, you have to rely on really good people in the team around you.
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January 2021 electrical wholesaler | 19
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