December 2025/January 2026
housewareslive.net
TAKE A TOWN – CARDIFF
Dunelm, City Link Retail Park, Newport Road
This store, located at the end of a small retail park, is also home to national retailers, Jollyes Pets and Home Bargains. I was looking to buy a saucepan package set. As
I browsed, I was greeted by Jamie, who interacted with me as he was putting products on the shelves. There were a number of package sets available
from suppliers including Brabantia, Prestige and Tefal. The first product I looked at was from Prestige;
the 9 X Tougher Than Titanium set was priced at £65. Looking closely at the box, I could see that it a three-piece set, consisting of 16cm, 18cm and 20cm saucepans. I liked a Tefal set (Titanium Force), but it became
apparent very quickly that this was not displayed in the correct place, as the price ticket referenced a totally different product The Tefal package included five products: 20cm
and 28cm frying pans, a 14cm milkpot, and 16cm and 18cm saucepans. With no sign of an approach, I left the store.
Costco, Capital Retail Park, Leckwith Road
This store opened on opened on Thursday, July 31, 2008, as part of the Capital Shopping Park development in Leckwith. I was looking to buy a stand mixer for my recently
refurbished kitchen. Inside the store, I headed to the small domestic appliances area, where products were merchandised, with boxes of products under the display. There were two suitable products. The first was a
Kenwood model (KMX751ABK), which was priced at £213.98. The point-of-sale material around the mixer was very good, as it mentioned the model’s 1000W motor, five-litre stainless steel bowl and 14 optional attachments. Another piece of POS stated that the product comes with a whisk, dough hook, K-beater, splash guard and spatula. The second stand mixer was from KitchenAid (SM55), priced at £479.98. Unlike the Kenwood model, this product was not well presented. From the KitchenAid box, I could ascertain that the mixer comes with a 5.2-litre bowl, as well as three attachments..
T K Maxx, The Hayes
This store opened on Thursday, March 28, 2013, and is in the former David Morgan department store. I was looking to buy new salt and pepper mills
to be a fixture on my new dining room table. Inside the store, I took the stairs to the basement, which is where the home department is located. Once I had located the salt and pepper mills, there were seven sets on display from suppliers including Cole & Mason, Culinary Craft, Dartington, Typhoon and Viners. I noticed that prices varied among the different
salt and pepper mills, with prices ranging from £8.99 for a Culinary Craft set, up to a Dartington set priced at £19.99. The top priced Dartington product caught my
eye. The product information on the box indicated that these were electronic mills, which are powered by four AAA batteries (not included). Other information informed users that the
products should be wiped clean, using a damp cloth; they were not dishwasher safe.
Sales skills: 1/5
Store presentation: 3/5
Total score: 4/10
Summary: Despite a greeting from Jamie – which I have given a point for – this was as good as it got. Products were in the wrong place and displays were messy.
Sales skills: 0/5
Store presentation: 4/5
Total score: 4/10
Summary: I was unable to assess the sales skills at this store, as there were no staff visible in the area. I’ve knocked a point off for how untidy the KitchenAid display was.
Sales skills: 0/5
Store presentation: 4/5
Total score: 4/10
Summary: I was unable to assess the sales skills here. The salt and pepper mills display was a mess.
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