the BIG interview


Vogel’s sets out its green credentials


James Attfield, managing director of Turnstone AV, the exclusive importer of Dutch wall mount brand Vogel’s, tells Simon King about a new green initiative from the brand and ways in which independent retailers can stay ahead of the multiples when it comes to environmental messaging


interest-ed in, these sorts of initiatives resonate with them, and it’s not necessarily, you as the retailer hav-ing to do too much legwork on this area, in this case it’s being done for you.” Mr Attfield said Vogel’s is shining a light on this


area for wall mounts and really driving this agenda. He said: “As we all know retailers can make more


margin from a wall mount, than they do from selling a TV, but it’s important for independent retailers to recognise these tools are available.” Mr Attfield concedes that the environmental challenge is not something that’s going to be com- pleted or won overnight. He said: “Vogel’s is Europe’s number wall mount


brand, the products are of the highest quality and now they are pioneering in the area of environmental conscience so what’s not to like? “You can, with a certain level of pride, let your


V


ogel’s, Europe’s best selling wall mount brand, is known for being a


pioneer, not just in its products, but also in its outlook and its latest initiative is set to widen the gap between itself and its nearest competitors. James Attfield, managing director of Turnstone


AV, said: “People are buying, and continue to buy, large TVs and with Vogel’s extended range, you don’t necessarily need the monster prod-ucts to hold the big TVs.” Indeed, Vogel’s competitively priced large


product now holds TV sets up to 77in and up to 45kg in weight. This is all great news, but Mr Attfield claimed the major thing that Vogel’s is focusing on with this range – and they’ve spent a lot of time and effort on this – is this whole issue of 100%


20 | www.ierdaily.co.uk


recy-clable packaging and the notion of an environmental conscience “There are no plastic screw bags in the box


anymore. All the instructions can be accessed on line through a QR code and there is a cardboard insert in the box providing a drilling template and all the details required to us the augmented reality ‘DrillRight’ app.” Furthermore, pulp-based packaging is now being used for the products. “Vogel’s has done this with a high level of


environmental and social conscience,” Mr Attfield said. “Vogel’s has also reduced single use plastics in its products by 95%, which is good news for everybody, and all expanded polystyrene (EPS) has been removed. “Bear this in mind, because when it comes to some of the things that your customers are


customers know that they have bought something from a company that is considering these wider issues and are able to invest in these very im- portant areas Mr Attfield said that he finds it “almost impossible” to engage with national retailers on environ-mental packaging and solutions. “My advice to you in the independent retail trade is that all retailers are talking about this and tak-ing some responsibility, but how many are actually committed to discussing it in categories like ours, the answer is none.” he said. “As independent retailers, you have the chance


to communicate in these areas quickly. You can make decisions about what you stock. “Grab things by the scruff of the neck and do it first and do it ahead of the nationals – make your bold claims ahead of what’s going on in the mainstream marketplace, which should give you an early competitive advantage. “Independent retailers are interested in selling


high priced products at good margins and to do that, they need a little bit of the story to tell behind it – this is just another development from Vo-gel’s that puts you in pole position.”


July 2022


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