comment BRANDON FUREYNational AccountManager of BergHOFF UK at Towcester in Northamptonshire On theMove


A lot of focus is on the forthcoming [London trade show] Exclusively Housewares, which will have been and gone once this has gone to print. I’malso looking forward to travelling across to our headquarters in Belgium- I’mtold the showroomis a sight to behold!


What’s’s been the biggest change since you became involved in the housewares industry? The rise of online and the knock-on effect that


Where were you?


I was national accountmanager at Creative Tops/KitchenCraft (Lifetime Brands Europe).


And how did you get there?


I joined Creative Tops straight out of education and spent nine years with the company,


working with UK high street accounts. The latter two years sawme working with KitchenCraft as the two companies effectivelymerged under the umbrella of Lifetime Brands.


y,mainly ft


based at Towcester in Northamptonshire and manager in April of this year. Our offices are I joined BergHOFF UK as a national account Where are you now?


we are the UK armof BergHOFFWorldwide


Tell us a bit about the company. (www.berghoffworldwide.com).


BergHOFFWorldwide has been in existence for y.


become an established international brand some 25 years now and over this time has


which brings design and innovation to the


Upon gaining a considerable foothold in the kitchen.


European and North Americanmarkets, we


excellent progress within a very short period. arrived in the UK in 2013 - and havemade


What does your role entail?


Managing some of our key accounts, along with exploring business opportunities with others, across different distribution channels.


been very different and interesting. I’mgetting r, each day has


How do you spend an average day? It’s very early days and so far,


there’s a lot to be getting on with just now, from up to speed with all things BergHOFF and


ongoing projects and upcomingmeetings to show preparation.


existing customers, seek out new business and Ultimately, to grow the business with our What’s’s on your agenda?


make sure we seize every opportunity that comes our way.


June/July 201 9


During your time in the housewares industry, what products have impressed youmost and why?


y,


One of the things that drewme to BergHOFF was the fantastic portfolio of product on offer. Having been the recipient of several Red Dot awards for design and innovation, this lends credence to the firmly held view that we have an outstanding product offer, especially in terms of cookware, tools/gadgets, knives and innovative storage.


r,


During your time in the housewares industry, which housewares retailers have impressed youmost and why?


y,


It’s tough to single out just one as there are many fantastic retailers, but I would say


• Houseware resLive.net • twitter. m/H r.com/ /Houseware


New Leo Cookware from BergHOFF was on show at Exclusively Housewares. BergHOFF is the recipient of several Red Dot design awards for ranges including Leo Cookware and accessories


resnews housewares evil .net | 27


Th this i


emarket is challenging at themoment and s having on the traditional high street.


with us being a small teamin the UK, it’s all hands on deck day-to-day. But fortunately, we are seeing significant growth with our customers.


What’s’s been the biggest achievement of your career?


Overall, I would say, workingmy way up the ladder at Creative Tops - starting out in a junior role and going on tomanage a portfolio of major UK retail accounts.


Aside frompurely just sales, given the nature of the business at the time, I was able to gain fantastic experience in numerous areas including own-label, new product development and Far East factories.


I would be involved in each step of the sales and development process, so would see projects through full circle. I’ve got great satisfaction fromseeing product that I’ve helped develop fromscratch selling well in-store.


I was also lucky to work alongside some


brilliant people at Creative Tops,many of whom have well


elsewhere in the industry, including two of nowmoved on and are continuing to do


whomI’ve now linked up with again at BergHOFF: ourmanaging director Andrew Leggett and sales director Chris Ford.


particularly with their sourcing, development Lakeland have always impressedme,


Name one change you wouldmake to the and in-store experience.


housewares industry.


Of course I’d like to see BergHOFF continue to y.


make headway in the UK and become a key supplier to a variety of retailers.


What advice would you give to someone starting out in the housewares industry? Throw yourself into it and enjoy it. It’s a very rewarding and interesting industry with regular change that can offer up lots of opportunities.


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