RANGE REVIEW: HOUSEWARES
POINT K
Amefa commercial director Steve Law addresses the issues facing retailers and suppliers selling household knives, what’s being done to tackle these and how to change the mindset of the consumer.
nife and cutlery manufacturer, Amefa showcased a prototype of a new merchandising unit for knives on
its stand at this year’s Exclusively Housewares. Designed
to help
retailers get product back out on their shelves in the wake of a surge in knife crime and further clampdown on underage sales, the unit showcases a selection of knives with the blades safely encased in a Perspex box and the handle free to allow shoppers to have a more tactile purchasing experience. The way the products are displayed and can be picked up and handled, enables customers to feel the weight and balance of a variety of unpackaged knives, from entry level models, up to more premium lines. A mobile tablet built into the unit provides digital interaction and advises shoppers on the type of knife to suit their needs, with the option to then display packaged stock above or request to buy on the tablet, before picking the product of choice up from the counter. Whilst a safer way to carry knives in store, it is also designed to create a bit of theatre around the category. “We want to make the retailing of knives safe,” explains Amefa’s Steve Law. “Retailers are taking knives off the shelves and they are losing out on sales; as are we. From a PR perspective for retailers, it is an emotive issue but we are looking at how to tackle the issue and get products back on sale. We are also looking at how to take the category forward because it is a high-interest category and to be able to interact with the products at the point of purchase is key.
www.diyweek.net “Some retailers are opting for
carded displays in store, so there is no product on the shelf and, whilst we understand why they are doing that, it just looks so old fashioned. We’ve got the technology now to do something with it. “The version we brought to the show is just a prototype and was ready just in time for Exclusively but we are already planning tweaks to it, including magnets added in to where the knives are displayed, so they go back in and rest more neatly.
“The tablet on the stand provides a link to digital and information about the products on display. It even has an ‘add to basket’ function, so if the retailer wants to take knives off sale, they can use that function and the product will be taken to a cigarette kiosk or the shop counter for the customer to purchase. “This should work better than other options available. In Dunelm, for example, the knives are attached to wires and the retailer admits that sales have nosedived because they’ve not got the staff to man the stand and help customers complete their purchase.”
Changing the message “We
are working hard to take people’s minds back to what a knife is for – cooking! It’s for food prep, it is not a weapon. We need to change the message and the industry needs to change its tone. We need to be humanising the product and bringing it back to what it’s there for.
“The next step is to look at
changing the packaging to get a Challenge 21 design with the logo because, currently, there is not a strong, consistent message getting
out to the customer. “Also in terms of packaging,
there is the worry that people can easily take the knife out in store and steal it, without having to go through the process of buying or age verification. There is not an industry-standard ‘pull test’ which determines how easily a knife can be pulled from its packaging. Some retailers stock the products in half- blister packaging, whilst others insist in full blister. There needs to be consistency. “Then you are faced with the issue of the environment and the drive to get rid of plastic. I think, at this stage, you need to think ‘what’s priority number one – security or sustainability?’
“If we can get an industry standard on pull tests, then we can start looking at the different materials we can use that might be more sustainable than plastic. “We
have created this new
merchandising stand because of the issue around underage knife sales and knife crime but it actually also works to create a bit of theatre around the point of purchase and makes a feature of knives in store again. Before retailers didn’t want to give over too much space to the category and you just have rows of products handing on hooks with an overwhelming choice for shoppers but that mindset is changing.”
Making physical retailers relevant “Tesco is one of the retailers who removed knives from sale and I know they have a new solution launching in store within the next month or so, however, the Tesco global buyer came on to our stand and was really keen on the new
merchandiser, taking photos and everything. I’m sure people will copy it but this is about the good of the industry as a whole. “Two national retailers are really
interested in the merchandising stand but they want to include multiple brands on there, which is fine for us, as long as we get some benefit from it.
“Not all manufacturers/suppliers
have been pro-active but most have, which is encouraging. At the end of the day, it’s about the industry. “We shouldn’t just bring knives to the market and then say ‘there you go’ and that be it. We have a responsibility as a manufacturer to be more than just the products and, if there are issues out there, we need to offer support. We see ourselves as a category partner and we believe we have to be able to do end-to-end. “Age verification is very difficult to do effectively with online sales, so this could be a great way for bricks- and-mortar retailers to become front of mind with consumers again. “We need to get scalable innovation and get retailers on board to see what investment they are willing to make in the category. “During my time with Fiskars
I remember creating a similar merchandiser that housed pruners in garden centres and you watch how much the consumers really gravitated towards it. “It has to increase sales in my mind. Shoppers can really feel and touch the product, experiencing the weight and balance in the way they can’t with the wires attached or when they are in their packaging. There is a great ability to trade customers up, as they can compare each knife side by side.”
28 JUNE 2019 DIY WEEK 17
GETTING TO THE
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