contents


May/June 2021 IER-MAY21-FC:IER-FEB20-WITT 24/05/2021 16:18 Page 1


The new normal I


am delighted to be back working in the electrical retailing industry aſter a few


years away and it’s been nice to reconnect with both manufacturers and retailers since I took over the editor’s chair. My thanks to Jonathan Swift for making the


EDITORIAL


Managing Editor: Simon King sking@datateam.co.uk 07973 386724


SALES


Special Projects and Events: Linda Dorling lindaedorling@gmail.com 01256 321337


Business Director: Carl Hearnden chearnden@datateam.co.uk


Artwork Editor Claire Noe cnoe@datateam.co.uk 01622 607963


Circulation Enquiries: datateam@c-cms.com 01825 749900


Annual Subscription: UK £91, Overseas £122


All press releases to be sent to: ier@datateam.co.uk


handover a smooth process and I look forward to taking IER forward. Becoming IER’s new managing editor comes at an interesting time. Despite the widespread criticism of the government at the start of the pandemic, I think the vaccination progress that the country has made is formidable, and it’s great that independent retailers across the UK have reported a boost in sales, both online and in-store. Here at IER, we have a couple of interesting


items to promote. Firstly, the IER Awards 2021 are literally just around the corner, and I understand that tables and places are filling up. I look forward to meeting you at event on


Wednesday, July 14, which will be the first time that we have been able to get together to celebrate this fabulous industry, while recognising retailers and suppliers. For more information about the IER Awards 2021, see p5.


REGULARS 4 News


10 Question & Answer: Mark Wardell, managing director, Hughes Electrical


12 Brand Comment: Laura Favretti, Morphy Richards 16 The Big Interview: Ben Gilks


FEATURES


14 konnect promotes its new satellite broadband service


20 Humax’s head of retail James Sandison says it’s time for independent retailers to embrace the smart home revolution


Produced and published by Datateam Business Media Ltd., 15a London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including recording, photocopying or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the Publisher.


22 Cooling: The latest trends and products in the refrigeration sector


26 AMDEA chief executive Paul Hide reports on exceptional sales of cooling appliances over the past 12 months


28 Small Domestic Appliances: Thanks to lockdown, and the rise in home working, the SDA category has grown exponentially


12 28 20 16 One thing that I did during


lockdown was download a plethora of news apps to my phone, mainly so I could check on the progress of Manchester United, but I am delighted that the IER app is now available from the App Store and Google Play. This is an exciting development for the magazine, and I encourage you to download the free app today. In every walk of life there are apps and now IER is joining the party. IER, just as it always has, puts independent


retailers at the heart of the publication and I am delighted that I was the first trade journalist to visit Ben Gilks at his new store in Bristol. The successful independent retailer has built a superb store – following a whopping £900,000 investment. IER is your magazine and I’d very much like to


hear from both retailers and manufacturers; also don’t forget to follow the magazine on Twitter @IERMag.


Simon King Managing Editor sking@datateam.co.uk


May & June 2021


www.ierdaily.co.uk | 3


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32