CONTENTS 8


4 NEWS: Arçelik and Whirlpool deal gets provisional go-ahead 6 NEWS: Amazon’s iRobot buy-out terminated


8 REVIEW: SharkNinja launches a host of new products at its first ever EMEA Forum in Palma, Mallorca


12 INSIGHT: Dan Todaro talks about sustaining the sustainability conversation on the shop floor to create rewarding connections


13 COLUMN: Stu’s Views Part 1: AWE’s Stuart Tickle explores the ever-expanding world of smart home and custom installation


16 INTERVIEW: Blake Green, CEO of E&S Services, explains how manufacturers and retailers can improve their end-to-end product refurbishing and recycling solutions


18 REVIEW: CES 2024: This year’s Las Vegas technology super- show put AI centre stage, but that was only half the story. Steve May reports from the show floor


22 ANALYSIS: Voice assistants have dominated the smart speaker segment for years, but is the market becoming a little saturated? Will McGill investigates


26 ANALYSIS: What eco-friendly appliances do consumers desire these days? Will McGill looks at what’s ticking their boxes


32 SHOPFLOOR: Retailer Profile: Power Point Stores has been selling and servicing electrical goods since 1995. “What our staff don’t know about appliances isn’t worth knowing,” Marketing Manager, Natalie Broad, tells ERT


34 SHOPFLOOR: Training: “In a retail business, everyone has their part to play,” says T21 Group’s Paul Laville


Contact us: Editor


Jack Cheeseman 01372 414 298


jackcheeseman@ertonline.co.uk


Publication Manager Steve White 01622 699167


swhite@datateam.co.uk Contributors to ERT this month: Dan Todaro, Stuart Tickle, Steve May, Paul Laville.


To subscribe to ERT, visit: www.ertonline.co.uk/registration


Or to change you subscription details, email: subscriptions@ertonline.co.uk


Assistant Editor Will McGill 01622 699 185


wmcgill@datateam.co.uk


Event Manager Charlotte Steadman 01372 414 299


csteadman@ertonline.co.uk Published by:


Datateam Business Media Limited London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY 01622 687 031


© 2023 Datateam Business Media ABC certification


ABC total average net circulation: 6,000 (for the issues distributed between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016). Total net circulation for the audit issue: 6,000 (cover issue December 2016)


Views expressed by the contributors do not necessarily represent those of the publisher, editor or staff.


Media Director Paul Ryder


pryder@datateam.co.uk


Artwork Editor Claire Noe


cnoe@datateam.co.uk


Features Editor Steve May


@SteveMay_UK 18


16 22


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February 2024 ertonline.co.uk


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