November 2023
ertonline.co.uk
outdoor cooking and dining or a bit of lighting in their flower beds. We’re not trying to be the best at every single element of outdoor living; we just create the space to educate consumers on what’s possible, and then our partners will come in as the experts for each area.
Q: What are your plans for the next year or two? AJ: To stop spending money! We’ve gone through a phase of incredible redevelopment in recent years – not just with the new showroom or the garden but the with the general remodelling of the business. We’re in the best position we’ve ever been in, so now we can actually enjoy these amazing spaces and share them with our customers. It’s so important to enjoy what you do and we are very privileged to work in this fast-paced, very cool industry, so we’re looking forward to just enjoying that for a bit and not having the stress of running a huge internal renovation project as well as those for our clients!
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dealers who have worked with them for so long is just mind boggling! Lance was quite rightly so upset. It’s also unfortunate that we weren’t the only dealer to be closed down.
Q: Of course you have many other in-store display areas, so what other brands do you work with? AJ: Whether it’s TV, hi-fi, home networking, home cinema or lighting control, we offer a vast amount of choice from smaller specialist brands right up to the mainstream ones like LG, Sony and Samsung. We are starting to do a lot more with Loewe. In my opinion the brand is as strong, if not stronger, than it’s ever been and it was great to see them engaging with the industry at EI Live! and IFA this year. They seem to have some really great product out at the moment which, aesthetically, fits really well in our store. We also work closely with Ruark Audio and they have a growing range these days. And as a British brand it’s nice to share their story. As part of our new store refit they will have a bigger dedicated space.
In August last year, Bang & Olufsen (B&O) announced it was terminating its trading with Potters Home Digital after more than 50 years. Mr Hopley received a phone call one Friday afternoon from one of the brand’s sales reps explaining that it was taking “a new commercial direction”, which involved closing down their long-standing dealers and directing customers to their own brand stores. Potters was the last B&O dealer in the region after relationships with others, including Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone, were also cut off. The closest store now for the South East is Selfridges in London. Mr Hopley and Mr Jones had just committed to upgrade the B&O part of their showroom when the news came through.
Q: This must have been so out of the blue! Did you ever get a proper answer as to B&O’s reasons for this? Alex Jones: No. Their reasons were not clear and still aren’t. I think they’re very naïve; for them to think that their brand is strong enough to operate in that new way is very short-sighted. The company has a lot of loyal customers and if they are not protected
they are quickly going to lose trust. A B&O sale can be very complex and it’s not something that can be done online, so I think this whole new approach simply isn’t viable. Only recently they announced that their company share has dropped to the lowest it’s ever been, so the approach of parting ways with
Q: Other retailers have intimated that there’s an issue with the lack of training and qualifications for those in the installation business and to attract new talent into the sector. Would you agree? AJ: Absolutely. You cannot learn this industry quickly and there is no out-of-college course specifically for this industry, which I do think has led to a big shortage of skilled personnel and that is only going to become more painful as the sector continues to grow. For our engineers no day is ever the same; it might be multiple installations in one day and other times it might be a week-long project. And while we primarily work in the South East we do also have our B2B partners where work can stretch further afield – even as far as the Alps [fitting out ski chalets and holiday homes]! So it can be a very diverse role for our guys; they have to have a huge range of skills and training is a massive ongoing part of their development. The likes of CEDIA are really making a difference. Its Next:Gen Smart Home Career Toolkit provides companies like ours with resources to present to colleges, trade schools and agencies so we can offer the right training for apprenticeships.
Then you’ve got AWE helping companies in the CE market expand into custom install, and it’s got some really great training and support initiatives as well. Awareness of all of this is so important.
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