Independent Electrical Retailer - the leading trade magazine for the electrical industry

Independent Electrical Retailer

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Bosch and Cannon winners of the Which? Awards

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The third annual Which? Awards organised by the consumer organisation and held this year at the British Museum in London, saw Bosch and Cannon winning the top accolades of the Best Domestic Appliance Brand and the Best Audio-Visual Brand respectively. John Lewis reclaimed the Best High Street Retailer title and play.com retained the Best Online Retailer award.

Philips launches Sonicare for children

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Helping parents teach their children to develop an effective oral hygiene early in life, Philips has launched Sonicare for Kids - the first Sonicare power toothbrush for children.

Creating music library on Sony HDD Hi-Fi system

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Sony's new GIGA JUKE NAS-SC500PK is a hard disk drive home audio system - like a jukebox - that allows users to create one music library from tunes scattered on different products such as PC, MP3 player, mobile phone, USB sticks, CD and even vinyl record collections.

Leveraging with the green card

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Although the main world markets have contracted in 2008, the overall sales of the BSH Group totalling �8.76 billion were only 0.7% down on 2007. The company's pre-tax operating profit declined by 20% since 2007. "On the whole, BSH has proved to be more resistant to this crisis than many other manufacturers. This shows once again that with our value-driven management strategy we are on the right track," commented Dr Kurt Ludwig Gutberlet, CEO of BSH.

New battery regulations

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 coming into force will mark the full implementation in the UK of the EU Batteries and Accumulators and the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Directive. Previously, in Regulations published in 2008, the Government had implemented requirements relating to battery labelling and design. Now it has implemented requirements relating to the collection, treatment and recycling of waste batteries and accumulators.

Music on the move

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The personal audio sector has evolved at great speed over the last few years, with MP3 players cementing their place as the standard player of choice, fuelled by the phenomenal success of Apple's iPod. As a result, sales of more traditional formats including cassette, CD and MiniDisc continue to fall. But as the MP3 player sector beings to become saturated, not to mention the inevitable affect of the current economic crisis, the market faces some tough times ahead.

Cash in on the Digital Switchover with Humax

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The digital switchover will affect every UK household and, as the roll-out ramps up, there has never been a better time for retailers to cash in on growing demand for digital TV products.

Very efficient but friendly

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The last twelve months have been difficult for the floorcare market. "Value fell by more than 8% in the twelve months to April to �477m, the lowest levels since 2005. Cylinders make up around 2/5ths of overall sales and have been one of the worst hit with a 9% drop in value. The decline can be traced to a number of factors, including a certain level of saturation following aggressive pricing tactics over the last year, consumers delaying the replacement of their primary and often higher priced cleaner and a slowdown in initial acquisitions fostered by the downturn in the housing market. Price and innovation are both key to sustaining value for the sector in the medium term and despite some price erosion at the premium end, this has at least enabled prices to avoid a major slump and prevent value falling further than volume," comments Anthony Williams, GfK senior account manager, Domestic Appliances.

Investing for the future

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Consumer confidence is beginning to improve once more, albeit slowly, according to the latest Nationwide Index which interviewed one thousand people in May.� Whilst the vast majority remain gloomy about the current state of the economy, 28% of those questioned believe the situation will be better in six months' time than it is today.� But don't get too excited, a similar percentage says it will get even worse.�