on the board Nick Cornwell, managing director of black + blum On the Board


dimension like ours, are having to put in place processes and set up new legal infrastructures to ensure that we do not lose EU business post 1 January.


What’s your career background? Following my early career in foods companies where I held marketing roles, I moved into the small electrical appliances arena with Moulinex, and then on to Black & Decker to run the UK sales and marketing consumer business for five years. In 1998 I became managing director of Cole & Mason and entered the ‘housewares world’ proper. I left DKB Household 20 years later and was extremely fortunate to meet and partner up with Dan Black, founder of black + blum.


Tell us about black + blum We are now fully focused on the food and drink on-the-go category. We design premium products with an extremely high focus on sustainability, great design and durability. The product category we are in is growing very fast, as it meets the current consumer trends of wanting to be more sustainable, to eat healthily and to lead a healthier lifestyle. Our mission is simple – “People who own black + blum products feel great about using them every day”.


What’s on your work agenda? Having now become part of a smaller entrepreneurial business, I find myself getting stuck into a myriad of jobs great and small. Everyone at black + blum multi-tasks, and that also has to include me! Currently, amongst the big issues is deciding what projects we should prioritise to maximise our growth potential – if you are not too careful it is very easy to get pulled in too many directions at once when you are a smaller business. Also, determining and briefing the new


product development schedule – currently we are looking three years out with that, and it has to be kept under constant review in light of any market, materials or consumer changes. Trying to keep close contact with our very internationally spread customer base over the past few months has been and remains a particular challenge. Finally, planning and implementing the implications on our business due to Brexit is taking up time and resources. With all the Covid-19 talk, people have forgotten that companies that have an international


24 | housewareslive.net • HousewaresLive.net • twitter.com/Housewaresnews September 2020


What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? It is particularly good to see the black + blum brand and products get recognised for what we are doing in the sustainability and design space. We are often cited due to the approach we are taking within the market. Seeing our products doing very well in comparative tests in various media is always gratifying too.


And the most challenging? Keeping up to speed with and responding to a fast changing marketplace and world – made even more dramatic over the past few months! As well as this, the challenge is to gauge how quickly the various world economies recover to the point where we see growth rates returning once again – and ensuring the right stock and resources are in place at the right time.


What new products have impressed you in the industry? Any product or brand that has been able to adapt to ensure it stays relevant and viable as the consumer environment and business environment changes. Le Creuset and SodaStream would be two very good examples of this.


And what about retailers? The first did not even exist when I entered the industry – love them or hate them you cannot fail to be impressed with what Amazon has achieved. I also have a great amount of respect for Dunhelm. Often middle-market brands get squeezed, but they have done a great job in remaining relevant and showing growth through the years by focusing on the basics.


What are the main challenges for retailers? Over the past 20 years or so there has not been


the amount of retail innovation in the UK, nor the emergence of new homegrown brands and formats, as we have seen in some continental markets and in the US. The challenge for retailers is how to innovate


in order to differentiate. If you want to keep people shopping, whether on-line or in store, you need to give people a reason to want to come and discover. Delivering the same tired retail formats and offers, and expecting people to return to them will become less successful. Perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic will give the impetus to accelerate some new initiatives and changes.


And what about challenges for suppliers? Maintaining a constant, but relevant product innovation pipeline. New products remain a key driver for growth but the even greater challenge now is to ensure that these new products address the ever growing consumer call for sustainability. This is not a trend, but a new reality.


Companies that only produce products that do not have a real purpose, that will be bought and used just a couple of times before being put to the back of a cupboard, or worse still who claim that they are being ecological when they are not, will no longer be in business unless they change.


What is the biggest change you’ve seen? This has undoubtably been the digital revolution. Fast and furious, but undoubtably something that has brought with it a huge business opportunities that was not previously available, especially for those that have been early in embracing the rapid change.


What advice would you give before starting out in this industry? Listen to your ultimate target consumer, study their habits, beliefs and desires and then you might have a chance of meeting their real needs and in turn, you’ll be successful.


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