Q&A: Apelson Appliances Interview with Lee Sawford
Aſter many years of trading in the industry as Apelson Appliances the manufacturer has reorganised with a fresh new look promoting the Cata brand to the industry and the consumer. Leading the change has been newly appointed Sales Director, Lee Sawford who joined the business in February 2024. Having worked for a variety of brands over the last 25 years including Glen Dimplex, Hoover/Candy, and CDA. We meet up with Lee to discuss the plans and vision for the Cata brand within the UK market.
Q: Congratulations on your appointment. Now many retailers may not be familiar with Apelson Appliances or the Cata brand, so please tell me more? A: Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to feature in the magazine, I’m a longtime fan of the publication and believe it’s a vital tool in keeping your readers abreast of industry developments & news so it’s great to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves in a bit more detail. It has been a whirlwind 14 months since joining the business with lots of change behind the scenes that we are now ready to start sharing. Cata is a relatively unknown brand in the
UK however it’s a huge brand in Spain with significant heritage that’s been trading for over 50 years via our parent company The CNA group. We felt that it was time for us to introduce the brand to the UK market as part of our strategic group development approach aligning the UK business closer to The CNA group, while at the same time establishing the brand within the UK.
Q: In a crowded appliance market are you worried that Cata will simply become another “Me too brand” without a specific identity? A: Good question Stuart – the market is more devolved now than ever before especially with the current economic challenges and as you say there are numerous brands competing for a share of the business. The difference with Cata is that while the brand and feel may be new, we have traded with many retailers in this sector over the years under Apelson appliances. They will be familiar with the product range and more importantly our superb after sales service which is critical for the independent retailers. The difference now is that we are investing in a consumer facing brand to assist the retailers in selling the products.
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Q: So it’s the same business but you’re rebranding to Cata? A: All the infrastructure that our existing customers are used to remains the same in terms of our Head office support function, In house Customer Care Department, next day delivery (if required) direct from our 65,000sq ft warehouse, technical services etc, however there are several key differences in terms of how we will be engaging with both the Industry and the end consumer. An example of this is we now have a comprehensive consumer facing website to enable research prior to purchase. We also have a consumer marketing plan on Instagram/Facebook (no I’m not doing Tik Tok videos Stuart). As the rebranding progresses, we will also be looking to advertise the brand to the end consumer. In addition, we are making substantial changes to our product offering.
Q: That’s sounds intriguing we like new products – tell me more A: In the past we have had a somewhat fragmented product range. We now have a new product strategy and range plan that has seen us re-evaluate the number of products in the range and identify key product ranges to help both the consumer and the retailer understand where the product sits in the market in terms of price position & features. Within the range structure our Cata 100 to Cata 500 products will remain an Unbranded proposition, providing the end retailer with total flexibility to mix and match, while we add a more premium offering with our CATA 700 branded product range featuring the latest designs and tech. We are in process of developing more
products within the Cata 700 range, as an example our new Vented Induction Hobs will be
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