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comment Paul Threse, sales director UK & Ireland, Jomafe On the Board


and are working hard to continue to eliminate it from other ranges. Due to Covid-19, I actually feel I have more


What is your exact job title? Sales director UK & Ireland, although I also look after customers in Northern Europe, the Middle East, US, Canada and Australia.


What is your career background? From school I went into international banking and in 1984 I joined the family business Red Rose Cookware; we manufactured cookware in Bournemouth, as well as buying from Portuguese and Italian companies. In 1990 I took over the business, where I remained for 20 years. With the desire to peruse a new challenge, in 2012 I began working with Jose Maria Ferreira, developing the business and the Jomafe brand in various countries.


Tell us a bit about Jomafe. Jose Maria Ferreira, who trade under the Jomafe brand, is a progressive family business dating back to 1976. Our manufacturing facilities and head office is in northern Portugal with operations also in Brazil and a showroom/office in Bournemouth. Our key focus is the production of ceramics


(stoneware), and we also have a second Portuguese manufacturing facility which produces stainless steel cutlery, our sister company Iber Cutelarias. In addition, we design, source and distribute 1000’s of housewares products worldwide including 15 ranges of cookware, tools and gadgets, food storage, knives and much more, including pet products, some of which we produce in Portugal.


Our UK business originally began with the supply of own label for large accounts and we went on to introduce stock ranges under our Jomafe brand a few years ago.


What’s your working week like? Very varied – I spend time developing and increasing business, engaging with customers in the UK and other countries and working on new product development. Much time is also spent working on strategy with head office – finding ways of increasing business is obviously a key issue but something that we are also very passionate about is continuing our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. We have eliminated all plastics from our ceramics and cutlery production/packaging


July/August 2020


productive time available as previously I was spending around 50 per cent of my time on the road, visiting customers/potential customers as well as regularly travelling to Portugal. Now we are engaging on Zoom/phone instead and I actually think this trend will continue, at least until the end of 2020 as customers will not want to have meetings in person.


Most rewarding aspect of your job? Working with customers to develop business, new ranges etc and seeing the end result being well received by consumers, subsequently resulting in good sales.


Most challenging aspect of your job? Prioritising tasks and trying to fit everything in! As I haven’t been travelling since mid-March, I have had more productive time in the office, however, under normal circumstances Bournemouth is not an ideal base to cover the UK driving!


Pricing can also be quite challenging – despite the fact that our prices are very competitive, especially on stoneware, we always try to work closer with customers to find even better solutions.


What do you do to relax? I love spending time with the family, especially going for walks, and when time allows, I enjoy golf, tennis and kayaking, followed by some nice red wine! I am also a lifelong AFC Bournemouth fan but that’s not always particularly relaxing, especially this year.


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


The usual ones! In fact, any retailer that can survive and hopefully prosper in these difficult times.


What’s the biggest challenge and opportunity facing the housewares industry’s retailers? Bricks and mortar retailers are facing an even bigger challenge from ecommerce which is seeing huge growth during the pandemic. This area has gained a new customer base from consumers who had rarely/never shopped online, including a considerable number from the older generation that may not have thought about shopping online previously. Despite this, we know that customers still like


to touch/feel products and with effort put into good displays and retail settings there are still opportunities out there.


Jomafe • HousewaresLive.net • twitter.com/Housewaresnews housewareslive.net | 25


What’s the biggest challenge and opportunity facing the housewares industry’s suppliers? One of the biggest challenges is to constantly design and develop new, functional, visually pleasing products whilst keeping cost prices at the correct viable level so that good margins can be made by retailers whilst suppliers remain profitable. I feel that trade shows still present


opportunities – with the ever evolving introduction of new ranges we have increased business in the UK and other countries, often stemming from our presence at shows, something that we are committed to. Key shows for us include Spring Fair,


Ambiente, IHH Chicago and more – in fact Spring Fair 2020 was our most constructive exhibition ever, opening new accounts in the UK and other countries, as well as increasing business with existing customers.


What’s the biggest change you’ve seen since you joined the housewares industry? When I started in 1984 there have been many changes; the majority of sales were through wholesalers and there were many more retailers as well as more UK manufacturers. In an era before the internet made such a vast amount of information available trade shows were hugely important events for order taking and involved many more exhibitors with the housewares section at Spring Fair filling Halls 1, 2 and some of 3, a far cry from the market today. Presentation and packaging have improved


dramatically and recently eco products and packaging are increasing quickly, which will continue.


What advice would you give to someone starting out in the housewares industry? Keep positive – with retailers being bombarded by suppliers from everywhere it is impossible for them to look at everything, no matter how keen you are. Put the customer first and be honest and knowledgeable about your products – customers will respect you for it.


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