ASKO: STUART WILSON THE ERT INTERVIEW


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uxury appliances manufacturer, ASKO, has been re-launched into the UK with a sophisticated selection of kitchen products aimed at the top end of the market. These include a laundry collection with additional drying cabinets, all-new built-in cooking ranges and some impressive wine coolers. The Craft and Elements built-in ranges were only introduced earlier this year, and they demonstrate ASKO’s love for design, the company says, with stainless steel and black steel colour options available. In order to demonstrate its UK portfolio to the industry, the company has just opened a brand new 3,000sq ft showroom in Stoke-on-Trent following a six-figure investment in the space. It is home to more than 50 products and retailers and buyers will be able to see for themselves just what the range has to offer.


ASKO was founded in 1950 in Sweden, and today it develops premium kitchen, laundry and professional appliances that boast sleek, minimalist design and Scandinavian flair; products are distributed in the Nordics, USA, Australia and 50 other markets worldwide.


“The brand has actually been around in the UK for nearly 30 years, and a lot of people have recognised the name since it’s come back,” explains Stuart Wilson, ASKO’s National Account Manager. When ERT Editor, Jack Cheeseman, recently paid


a visit to the Stoke showroom, he and Mr Wilson sat down for this exclusive interview and spoke about what makes ASKO different, what consumers can expect from its products, and how it will compete in this incredibly crowded sector.


The new ASKO showroom in Stoke


When ERT recently paid a visit to ASKO’s new showroom in Stoke, the company’s National Account Manager, Stuart Wilson, spoke about how ASKO will position itself at the top end of the market. “Our focus is on simple, quality products with that unique Scandinavian flair,” he said. “We want to be a brand that people aspire to have in their homes.”


Q&A


Q: So why have you set up this showroom here and how’s it been since opening? Stuart Wilson: It has been a frustrating start because we were ready to launch and open the showroom a while back during lockdown; of course, that wasn’t the most ideal time but once things had eased we managed to open up.


This showroom demonstrates our commitment to the UK market. It is a statement to our partners that we are serious about investing in a location, and it’s a chance to show off our product quality; these are


extremely well-designed and well-crafted appliances that demand a certain price tag, and retailers need to see and experience this for themselves. The company started with laundry back in


the day, so we did a bit of a soft launch with our washers, dryers and drying cabinets and targeted certain retail channels, and we got some very positive feedback.


So far we have had a lot of visits from kitchen specialists and independent dealers – these guys have such good knowledge of kitchen appliances and we want them to be advocates of the ASKO brand with their passion coming through, not just in conversation with customers, but in how the appliances are presented in their stores.


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