News


Now in its twelfth year, the ERT Awards brings together retailers and suppliers to recognise excellence across the electrical retail industry. Last year’s event was the fi rst time the Awards ceremony was combined


with ERT’s Turning Point Live! – an exciting, new one-day event and a true, one-of-a-kind occasion in the industry calendar. Taking place on 7 October from 9.30am at the Grand Connaught Rooms in


London’s Covent Garden, Turning Point Live! will shine a light on best practice in the electrical retail sector. It will be a stimulating morning of conference- style sessions, featuring proactive electrical retailers sharing their experiences, and manufacturers with their advice on new opportunities to navigate the diffi culties currently faced across the industry to ensure a healthy future. This will be followed by a networking drinks reception and then lunch before


4


the ERT Awards gets under way in the afternoon! To book tickets, please visit www.ertawards.co.uk/book-tickets or call 01372 414299. In this issue of ERT you will fi nd all the information you need ahead of this


year’s event, including the timings for the day and what your ticket includes. Or go online – www.ertawards.co.uk – to fi nd out more. There’s also a comment from the Editor, Jack Cheeseman, on page 12.


Futuresource Consulting’s Audio Collaborative 2019


HARMAN’s Carsten Olesen to give keynote at 2019 event


Smeg opens the doors to its upgraded training facility


Located across the entire ground fl oor of Smeg’s purpose-built UK Head Offi ce in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Smeg’s state-of-the- art training facility and training team employ a vast range of methods to bring the company’s 1,200 strong UK product range to life. Training includes specialist new


products such as ‘SmegConnect’, its connected offering to shortly to be bolstered by new ovens, and its ‘Vitality System’, which includes new professional appliances such as blast chillers, steam ovens and vacuum drawers. With its vast showroom setup grouped by Smeg’s iconic aesthetic families, its ‘living kitchen’ training school, alongside its purpose-built 60-person conference space, the facility works hand-in-hand


with Smeg’s fi eld-based training offering and London fl agship theatre.


Thanks to the investments made by Smeg, Clare Edwards and her team of home economists and product trainers can provide a completely fl uid training experience in the new facility. ‘Inspire’ – Smeg’s bespoke training courses designed for independent retailers, operates in two parts (one and two), equipping sales staff with varying levels of knowledge, with everything they need to confi dently and effectively sell and up-sell Smeg. The format is either single or double day. Trainees have time to interact with appliances to truly understand how they work. Smeg swears against a ‘Death by PowerPoint’ rule, so the ‘Living Kitchen’ allows theory to become a reality.


Carsten Olesen, President of the Consumer Audio Division at HARMAN, will be delivering the keynote at the sixth Futuresource Consulting Audio Collaborative conference on 7 November at the Ham Yard Hotel in London. Following ongoing support and popular demand from consumer audio, pro audio and entertainment industry professionals, the team at Futuresource has curated a sterling agenda which will be the framework for an enjoyable day of invaluable insights, expert discussions and networking opportunities. Attendees


will see


presentations and panels from industry titans and Futuresource experts on the growth and crossover business opportunities for the entire audio ecosystem.


“Audio is playing an increasing role in consumer and pro users lives – the


industry continues to innovate at a fast pace striving to meet users future listening needs – it is such an exciting time for the sector,” commented Sarah Carroll, Co-Founder of Futuresource Consulting. “As always Futuresource, our event sponsors, speakers and associations are looking forward to the


spirit of collaboration that our


event brings, exploring the nascent technology trends, the key business opportunities and getting to the heart of what the future could bring.”


ERT is a media partner for this year’s


Audio Collaborative


conference. You can keep up to date with all the news prior to and following the event on the ERT website and in our upcoming issues.


September 2019 ertonline.co.uk


The ERT awards takes place next month!


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