November 2021 ertonline.co.uk


27 Q&A


Q: What are your hopes for the market this Christmas season? SA: There is a real appreciation for high quality unique features and the new designs and colours introduced by SMART in 2021 to refresh and revitalise the SDA sector have been great. In a very strange way, we are grateful that the


pandemic has re-focussed consumers (my household is definitely a great example) on what to look for when choosing a SDA or similar gadget that they will live with for a while. A toaster should not be just a toaster! As The Sun newspaper once said, “if you have the SMART Tunnel Toaster, why would you need any other toaster?” Some of our best-selling appliances this season


so far include the SMART Voice Egg Steamer, our Candy Floss Maker in the Retro Ivy Cream finish – this is a great addition at home if you have kids; there’s the Bacon Express, Three-in-One Panini, Waffle and Grill Deep Fill Sandwich Maker (we think this is the best in Europe by far!), plus our Samosa Maker – this does very well at Harrods and many other high-end places! We also have the Healthy Scale with its


corresponding app, and this is a great and easy way to help you understand just how healthily you are eating; the scales automatically connect with your SMART app to help you measure the weight and goodness of your food and it analyses the nutritional value of mixed food and provides a range of stats and data!


Q: Are your products purchased as gifts around time time, or do consumers also treat themselves?


SA: SMART SDA lines – whether it’s the Retro range or the Modern range – sit very well in the gifting category and Christmas is a key time for us, but also find other times quite successful as well, such as Easter, Diwali and other religious occasions. We have a few wedding specialised retailers too that tell us how our ranges resonate with their clients as gift options. As well as this, we know certain Royals enjoy using the SMART Theatre Popcorn Cart and SMART Retro Kettle Popcorn Maker from time to time! We also have growing Facebook and Instagram


fans that tell us they order SMART products to treat themselves at any time of year – especially during the lockdowns.


Q: Is anything new due to hit the market soon? SA: We had five products due out before the end of this year, but because of raw material challenges and factory closures in China, plus the unavailability of containers and ships, we have decided to launch these items in 2022. They are totally unique with all the best features for their class, and coming in new UKCA certification. We are a relatively young company still, but we


are already attracting attention from across the industry. This bodes well for SMART, and there looks to be a positive outlook ahead, particularly so with the challenges created by the pandemic. I think 2022 will be an even better year, but


with a higher price tag! SMART has always been keen to deliver best-in-class products and our retail partners recognise the value added through the SMART brand. But as all basic raw materials, manufacturing and logistics are now very expensive compared to 2020, and the SRP will carry some impact as a result of this. It is always the value that matters!


Contact SMART sales: paul@smaworldwide.com www.smartworldwidefun.com


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