Hh june 2014

June 2014

Hardware & Homestyle

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Contents 18 4

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information is correct, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions or discrepancies. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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Letter from the editor

News 4 On The Record 13

Welcome to this month’s issue of Hardware & Homestyle. As we write, the country is basking in summer sunshine and the stores are a riot of colour and style. Pre-planted baskets vie with barbecues, picnic benches and parasols for our customers’ attention.

With the school summer holidays about to begin the emphasis on leisure and summer fun can only intensify, given the continuation of the warm weather of course!

Right now an air of optimism abounds – as it nearly always does in this sector. Mix this with good planning and the flexibility to change quickly with the prevailing conditions and we should be set to reap the rewards of the season.

Meanwhile, we have another full issue here to help you along!

As usual we have a mix of News, Views, Opinion, Analysis and Advice. We also look at some of the latest products to catch our eye and catch up with Liam Kelly in the Room Outside.

To start off we take a look back at the success that was Bloom 2014.

Bord Bia welcomed over 106,000 visitors the festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. And participants and exhibitors enjoyed a few very busy days. Many reported buoyant sales onsite.

Inspiring Retail 16

Talk to you soon, Martin Foran, Editor

With Ken Hughes Coming to you from the Netherlands

The Home Front 18 Business-wise 23 With Russell Brennan Keane

Customer Service 24 With Charlie Boyle

DIY Report 27 Product News 30 HR Guidebook 32 With Colin Madden

Tech Talk 34 Books / Me and My Job 35 Room Outside 36 With Liam Kelly

The Final Say

38

With James Sweetman

Hardware & Homestyle is Published by Ocean Publishing 14, Upper Fitzwilliam Street Dublin 2 Tel: 01 678 5165 Fax: 01 678 5191 Publisher: Patrick Aylward Editor: Martin Foran Editorial Email: martin@hardwareandhomestylenews.ie National Sales Manager: Dermot Casey Email: dermot@hardwareandhomestylenews.ie Design/Layout: Jim Heron Email: jim@hardwareandhomestylenews.ie Printed by: W&G Baird Ltd, Antrim

News

Hardware & Homestyle

106,000

Over happy visitors attend Bloom 2014 Bord Bia welcomed over 106,000 visitors to its Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Artisans, exhibitors and garden designers alike enjoyed a very busy few days with many reporting buoyant sales onsite.

Last year, a Behaviours and Attitudes study valued the onsite sales at €5.5 million.

Outstanding

Speaking at the event Aidan Cotter, chief executive Bord Bia, commented ‘Bloom 2014 has been an outstanding success and feedback from those trading onsite has been extremely positive.

‘Bloom is now firmly established in the parklands setting of the Phoenix Park and is regarded as the most important event in the Irish horticulture calendar.

‘Bord Bia is privileged to provide this public showcase of Ireland’s worldclass food and horticulture sectors, both of which significantly contribute to Ireland’s economy.’

President

Bloom Patron, the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, described the event as ‘a beautiful festival of scents, colours and flavours that announces the delights of summer’.

Addressing a large crowd of Bloom visitors, President Higgins added: ‘Over the last seven years Bloom has become an important and beloved rendezvous, not just for professional horticulturists and landscape designers, but also for amateur gardeners and all those who wish to enjoy, discover or simply admire Ireland’s wide variety of flowers and plants, fruits and vegetables, and food and drink products.’

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June 2014

Bloom 2014 – Awards Show Gardens

The judging panel awarded a total of 22 medals to show garden designers including: 7 Gold, 6 Silver Gilt, 7 Silver and 2 Bronze. The overall category winners were: ❦Large Garden: Renault ZOE: City Life Garden, designed

by Kevin Dennis ❦Medium Garden: You Talk I’ll Listen – The Samaritans Garden, designed by Andrew Christopher Dunne ❦Small Garden: Facing South: The Talbot Collection at Malahide, designed by Paul Foley ❦Concept Garden: Messenger designed by Paul Doyle for the Jack and Jill Foundation

Floral & Nursery Marquee

A total of 44 medals were awarded to exhibitors within the Floral & Nursery Marquee with 11 gold medals; 8 silver-gilt; 11 silver and 13 bronze. WS Warmenhoven’s display of allium and amaryllis won ‘Best in Show’.

Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA)

The AOIFA Awards saw 20 medals awarded this year across four individual categories. Marta O’Kelly from Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow won ‘Best in Show’ for her entry within the Spellbound category.

Special Awards

The Designers Choice Award, a much sought-after accolade whereby the participating show garden designers vote for their favourite garden, was awarded to You Talk I’ll Listen – The Samaritans Garden, designed

by Andrew Christopher Dunne The People’s Choice Award as voted by the Bloom visitors was presented to Tim Austen for Barretstown & Glanbia: Sowing the Seeds of Magic.

Large Garden: Renault ZOE: City Life Garden, designed

by Kevin Dennis

Hardware & Homestyle

Gary Graham, Bloom show manager

Gary Graham, Bloom show manager, Bord Bia, said: ‘Once again we have been blown away by the standard of gardens at Bloom this year.

‘The designers have shown great imagination, skill and dedication in producing their breathtaking creations.

‘From peaceful havens, lush and colourful wetlands to inspiration from none other than Mrs Brown herself, the gardens deliver not just visually, but emotionally in both the “concept” and “show garden” categories.’

News Bloom 2014 in Numbers ❦ Over 80,000 plants were sold at Bloom 2014 at an estimated value of €750,000 ❦ 27,000 people availed of the free Shuttle Bus to Bloom ❦ 116 Bloom medals and awards were presented over the five days to garden designers, nurseries, floral artists, exhibitors and botanical artists ❦ 130 food buyers attended Bord Bia’s business breakfast at Bloom on Friday morning for one-to-one meetings with the exhibiting artisan food and drink companies ❦ Many sections and elements of the 30 show gardens will be rebuilt at various locations around the country – including hospitals, nursing homes and commercial enterprises. The Barretstown & Glanbia: Sowing the Seeds of Magic garden will be transported in full to Barretstown, while the Limerick City of Culture Garden will also be re-homed in the Medieval Quarter of Limerick City ❦ Onsite caterers sold in excess of 30,000 ice-creams to Bloom punters ❦ GIY-ers bought more than 100 polytunnels valued at €850 each ❦ The Craft Council of Ireland reported €200,000 worth of sales within the Craft Village at Bloom ❦ Keoghs sampled over 10,800 packs of crisps throughout the five days, while Food Village visitors enjoyed over 8,300 summer berries at the Keeling’s stand ❦ Over 30,000 Bord Bia recipe booklets were distributed at the Quality Kitchen Chefs Stage ❦ The Sculpture Garden featuring 50 pieces of Irish sculpture proved very popular with Bloom visitors, with almost half of the pieces selling during the show. Eight orders were placed for the ‘Apple Tree’ by Liam Butler, each valued at €800 ❦ 20 sheep were sheared at the Bloom farmyard producing over 70kg of wool ❦ Each day over 2,000 plants were cared for in the Plant Crèche while visitors continued to enjoy the show ❦ 82 tonnes of waste material from Bloom will be recycled ❦ A total of 4,000 people worked onsite over the 5 days including 170 volunteers ❦ It took 14 days to clear the Bloom site (it took 31 days to build Bloom) ❦ The next Bloom will open on Thursday, 28 May 2015!

June 2014

5

News

Hardware & Homestyle

MAM Software and RNH Solutions report a successful ‘InfoDay’ Customer and prospects display high levels of interest in the latest technology offerings.

MAM Software and RNH Solutions are delighted to report a very successful InfoDay, which was held at the Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin on June 11.

Performance

The free event, which was attended by existing and prospective customers, was held to demonstrate how technological advancements can help companies drive business performance.

Supplier partners who collaborate with MAM and RNH were also present so

that attendees could get a full insight into the MAM/RNH product offering.

A variety of innovative products were showcased during the event, including a tablet app which helps businesses to boost field sales, warehouse management tools and B2B and B2C e-commerce solutions that facilitate online trade.

There was also a high level of interest in cloud solutions, which give businesses the chance to compete with leading organisations in terms of technology and IT infrastructure.

Cloud hosted products are deployed via remote servers in a state-of-the-art data centre,

which allows businesses to utilise the expertise of trained IT maintenance experts.

Benefits

Cloud hosting also offers the benefits of flexible monthly payments, remote data backups and automatic software updates.

Aside from MAM and RNH, exhibiting companies included eBay, Claranet, PACT, Motorcheck, and Origin.

These companies work in partnership with MAM and RNH to produce products such as e-commerce, connectivity and data solutions.

‘We’re delighted with the success of our “InfoDay” and we’ve received some

very positive feedback from the attendees, as well as our partner exhibitors,’ said Michael Forrest, managing director at RNH Solutions.

‘The event proved to be very popular and attendees were pleased with the new developments that we demonstrated.

Feedback

‘We’re expecting to be very busy over the coming weeks following the feedback we’ve received and look forward to building relationships with many of the companies that came along to gain new ideas to maximise productivity and improve business performance.’

1.

2.

1. Michael Forrest and James Geoghegan, Bolgers 2. Bernard Forrester, Shelton Distributors; Ciara O’Rourke, RNH; Shay Forrester, Shelton Confectionary 3. Michael Forrest with Gary Morrison, Techplus 4. Paul Allen, Motorway motor factors and Ciara O’Rourke

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June 2014

News

Hardware & Homestyle

SFA National Business Crime Survey The ninth National Small Business Crime Survey, conducted by the Small Firms Association, shows that 48% of firms have experienced an increase in crime in the past two years, while 38% of businesses have been victims of crime on at least one occasion during the same time period.

Professional

According to SFA Assistant Director, Avine McNally: ‘the business community is under constant attack from planned professional criminality. There is an enormous psychological price being paid by business people as crime is now more organised, more professional, more ruthless and more pervasive.’

The costs associated with crime are increasing rapidly with the current survey showing the costs incurred per single incident of crime ranging from €80 to €200,000, with the average cost per incident being €8,728.

The capital expenditure by respondents on security measures averages €6,049 per company or a total investment of €1.20 billion per annum for all small businesses.

A total of 38% of firms viewed their spend on security products as good value for money.

In addition, the average cost per company of maintenance for security equipment averages €1,300 per annum or €260 million annually.

At a glance:

·48% of firms have experienced an increase in crime ·38% of businesses were victims of crime in the past two years ·49% of respondents were victims of crime on three or more occasions ·Maintenance costs of security equipment amount to €260 million McNally said: ‘a large part of the cost burden falls on retailers who are especially vulnerable per annum to crime and find themselves spending large sums of money on security measures they can ·9% experience crime while travelling on business ill afford.’

Burden

Aging population will result in more ‘do-it-for-me’ in home improvement

Facilitating the older customer – a ‘win-win’ for stores and householders

Residential market for professional handymen and contractors will grow in the coming years.

The European Home Improvement Monitor studies the home improvement behaviour of consumers in 10 European countries.

The European population is aging.

At this moment the group aged 65 and over consists of 17.5% of the total population in Europe.

Monitoring

Increase

The research is monitoring what type of home improvements were done, by who and which products have been used on a monthly base.

In 2013, USP Marketing Consultancy conducted 12,000 interviews. Results have been split by various background characteristics of the European consumers.

The hypothesis that the group of persons aged 65 and over more often hire a professional to do their home improvement job can be considered valid based on this analysis.

This fact will have its impact on the European home improvement market as a whole in the coming years.

The increasing share of ‘do-it-for-me’ means that the need for assistance via ‘handymen’ or contractors among consumers will grow.

jobs in and around their house themselves, could reach an age where they won’t be able to climb a ladder anymore.

Trend

Purchase

Manufacturers and retailers in the home improvement market should take this trend into account, say the organisers of the European Home Improvement Monitor study.

Some of them are already doing this by offering a handyman that can install the product for the consumer.

At the moment this is mainly offered by retailers or manufacturers for complicated products like, for example, roof windows or complete bathrooms.

This seems to be a good way to suit the customers’ needs.

However, there are still opportunities to offer this service for the easier home improvement jobs as well.

DIY-ers, who have done paint

By 2020 this share will be larger than 20%. and will continue to increase in the following decades.

Among the age group ’65-andover’, the share of do-it-for-me is significantly larger.

About 47% of all home improvement jobs in their houses are done by professionals, while in the lower age categories this percentage is about 30%.

They might still want to purchase the paint in the store where they have bought it in the past years, if this store can also offer a professional to do the paint job for them.

There has always been a problem whereby stores don’t want to take responsibility for the work of third parties and this is understandable.

However, it is pointed out, the alternative might well be that these consumers arrange a professional themselves, who will purchase the paint through a different channel.

This could lead to a shift in the brands that are used for home improvement jobs.

‘Therefore retailers and manufacturers should act now to facilitate future customers’ needs,’ is the message.

Therefore it is logical to expect a growth in share of ‘do-it-for-me’ in the coming years.

June 2014

7

News

Hardware & Homestyle a minimum of your effort.

Company News:

Audit

Profile Technology – a total solutions provider Profile Technology, established in 1980, is one of the leading IT business providers with an established customer base in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Qualified

Profile employs a highly qualified team, is expert in business and technology in equal measure.

Profile supplies business management systems as well as hardware and managed services.

‘We can be your total solutions provider, providing every single aspect of your I.T. or we can integrate our products into your existing environment,’ is the message.

Profile has developed a sophisticated business management system ideal for retail, wholesale, distribution and service.

‘The system handles every aspect of your business and it is the only business management software your company will ever need,’ we are told.

Solutions

Profile provides solutions that are different for each business sector.

‘We recognize that each business sector has requirements that are unique to that sector and this is reflected in the design of the system for this sector.

‘Not only are business sectors unique, but individual businesses in the same sector need to be different to compete.

‘Each and every solution uses the same,

state of the art technology – each system is different for each customer.’

‘Profile embraces your differences’

Profile analyses your business environment and integrates their software to suit your business’s needs.

Profile’s systems are simple, intuitive, well documented and easily understood whilst still capable of accommodating the most complex of businesses.

The system is designed to organise around each and every business function.

The business is designed to eliminate system bottlenecks, inefficiencies, waste, and rework, which will in turn ensure the smooth running of the organisation.

Profile Technology embraces any new technologies and integrates them to fit in with their software.

Most recently, Profile have incorporated their software into Apple and Android smartphones and tablets, meaning that online processing, stock takes, etc. can be accessed through these devices.

Changing to Profile from your existing system is straight forward.

‘Profile has developed software to facilitate the change over from your existing system to Profile,’ we are told.

‘This means in the majority of cases that the data transfer to profile database requires

‘Once your data is transferred, Profile carry out a complete data audit to ensure that all the data has been transferred correctly.

‘Prior to implementation on your site, Profile replicate your environment on our premises to guarantee it is integrated correctly, and this can also be used for training.

‘The transition from your current system to Profile’s state of the art system can be implemented as fast and efficient as a Saturday evening to a Monday morning for example.’

A key benefit of dealing with Profile is their personal one-to-one training and support.

You are trained by the person who designed the software and who has extensive knowledge in your business sector.

Training can be in Profile’s premises or on your premises.

Comprehensive

Profile provides a comprehensive, user friendly, support service. The support can be on your premises or at Profile.

With just one free phone call (ROI 1800701701 & UK 0800 0390269) Profile customers can avail of support, which is answered by a member of staff, capable of solving any problem you might have, within minutes rather than days or weeks.

Profile software is kept up to date based on changes in technology or statute on an ongoing basis.

‘The world of computer software is continuously moving forward and Profile Technology is moving with it.’

Freephone Numbers: ROI - 1800701701 & UK - 0800 0390269

SFA Business Sentiment Survey 2014 Small business sentiment continues to improve The Small Firms Association (SFA) has released the findings of its Q1 2014 Business Sentiment Survey. Commenting on the figures, SFA Director, Patricia Callan, said: ‘Business confidence levels have shown further improvement in the first quarter of 2014 and, while the environment remains challenging, the business performance is encouraging and companies are looking to the future with an increasing sense of optimism.’

Increased

The results show that 43% of respondents rate the Overall Business Environment as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. The figure has increased by 8% from Q4 2013.

Meanwhile, 48% expect the overall business environment in the next three months to be either ‘good’ or ‘very good’.

Just under half of small firms (49%) currently rate their own business as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, an increase of 7% on Q2 2013 and 46% remained positive about their business in the

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June 2014

coming three months.

Over 38% of respondents felt more confident about their business than three months ago while 49% felt their business was the same and 11% were less confident.

‘While the figures are positive, nearly 7% of firms will reduce employee numbers in 2014 as business costs and low consumer demand remain challenges for many firms,’ said Callan.

Improving

‘The survey shows that business conditions are steadily improving and points towards business and economic growth over the coming quarters.

‘The weak performance of the wider European economy, however, remains a concern.’

Callan added: ‘a big challenge for small firms, especially those trading on the domestic market, is the fragility of the domestic economy and confidence among consumers.’

News

Hardware & Homestyle

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June 2014

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News

Hardware & Homestyle

Exclusively Housewares a tremendous success!

This year’s Exclusively Housewares show has been declared a tremendous success by show organisers, Brooke House Exhibitions.

The show, which is run on behalf of the housewares members of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA), marked its 13th outing this year.

Stellar

The show presented a stellar line up of suppliers and top brands to an invited audience of housewares, tableware and SDA buyers and licensors.

Exhibitors were delighted by the turnout: ‘A lovely show – great buyers, great business opportunities, great networking and great party!’ said Victoria Whitbread of W2 Products.

Her views were echoed by Ed Bacon, UK marketing manager at DKB Household, who commented: ‘The show was good for us. It seemed well supported from all sectors and the quality of the personnel attending was impressive.

‘We saw all the major customers we were expecting and were able to showcase our portfolio to the key decision-makers.’

calibre of buyers attend the show for our exhibitors,’ explains show director Simon Boyd.

‘Once we’ve researched and invited them, we want our visitors to feel welcome and looked after, and we know our exhibitors work very hard at their part in creating a great and worthwhile show for buyers to attend.’

Positive

Electrical

William Jones, housewares sector director at BHETA, added: ‘The feedback from BHETA members who exhibited at the show has been extremely positive, with many commenting on the quality of the visitors through to the general organisation of the event.’

This sort of reaction is exactly what the organising team wants to hear!

‘We spend a great deal of time and effort to ensure the right

Next year will see the launch of Exclusively Electrical, a show dedicated to small domestic appliance suppliers and their customers, which will run alongside Exclusively Housewares.

This will give the team the opportunity to introduce new faces into the exhibitor line up for Exclusively Housewares and welcome some new retail visitors too. And we shall be watching this with great interest!

‘Wage demands threaten economic revival’ Mark Fielding

inflation figures, ISME, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, called on Government to, ‘once and for all’, get a grip on its costs ‘which will improve Ireland’s competitiveness’.

Warned

‘Rate of inflation masking the true increase in costs to Small Business.’

At the release of the CSO

10

June 2014

The Association also warned against premature and unsustainable union calls for wage increases as many SMEs continue to struggle with high costs and low consumer demand.

The May inflation figure was 0%, with annual inflation at 0.4%, which does not accurately show the steadily increasing business costs being borne by SMEs, as they are masked in the overall composite figures of all price changes.

Services inflation is still

marching ahead at 3.1%, which includes such items as legal fees under ‘other services’ at an annual inflation rate of 23.9%.

According to Mark Fielding, ISME CEO, ‘employers must guard against the dangers of wage-led inflation.

‘Economic recovery is far from assured and unsustainable wage increases will hamper growth.

‘The emphasis must be on productivity and enhanced competitiveness, not on increasing the already high cost base of struggling companies.

‘The discredited Social Partnership began as a tradeoff between actual pay and take-home pay, via lower taxes.

‘It should not be beyond the wit of our leaders to have a similar trade-off via lower prices and a reduction in

labour taxes.

‘The answer cannot be a simplistic higher pay, as requested by the unions.’

The Association called on the Government to: Ensure that all state imposed business costs are reduced in line with competitor countries.

Address the costs of energy, transport and ‘exorbitant’ fees of ‘the monopolistic legal profession’.

Legislate for upward only rent reviews on legacy leases.

Reduce Public Sector costs ‘by addressing the increments, perks and inefficiencies’.

‘The need for pay restraint must not go unheeded in the continuing struggle out of recession,’ said ISME. The mad-cap logic of increased wages being the answer to the recession must be scuppered once and for all,’ concluded Fielding.

News

Hardware & Homestyle

Retail Consultation Forum – inaugural session

Retail ireland News

Retail Ireland MasterCard Annual Conference 2014 As already reported by Hardware & Homestyle, Retail Ireland held its annual conference on 6 May in Dublin. This year we were delighted to have had the opportunity to join forces with MasterCard.

Stephen Lynam

Useful

Retail Ireland has welcomed the opportunity to participate in the inaugural session of the Government’s new Retail Consultation Forum.

Dedicated

Retail Ireland has long campaigned for the establishment of a dedicated engagement forum between Government and the sector and welcomed the decision to establish the Retail Consultation Forum, announced earlier this year, as part of a number of initiatives under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014.

‘The establishment of the Forum and the opportunity for Retail Ireland to participate in it is an endorsement of our ongoing campaign to place retail firmly at the heart of Government thinking,’ was the message.

The forum will meet quarterly with a different topic under consideration at each session.

At the most recent meeting at time of writing, Retail Ireland had the opportunity to engage with other industry representative groups to propose fiscal measures and other initiatives to support the industry under this year’s Budget.

Participation

Commenting after his participation in the Forum, Chairperson of Retail Ireland, Frank Gleeson, said: ‘We used this valuable and long-awaited opportunity to stress the critical need to stimulate spending by reducing the tax burden on consumers and ensuring that there are no extra costs placed on retailers under Budget 2015.

‘We look forward to Government paying heed to the significant role played by the Irish retail industry in employment and economic development, right across the country, by making Budget decisions which help to foster, rather than hinder, retail’s recovery.’

Almost 150 delegates heard our expert speakers address the theme of ‘recovery and renewal’, giving us useful advice and knowledge and leaving everyone inspired, excited and confident about the future of Ireland’s largest industry and largest private sector employer, retail.

The event was opened by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, with media entrepreneur and popular broadcaster Norah Casey as chairperson for the day and an entertaining, engaging and insightful key note address by The Baroness Neville-Rolfe, one of retail’s most successful and respected names.

Irish retail’s event of the year also featured expert contributions by Paul Neeson of the DAA, Garry Lyons of MasterCard, Shane Daly of Nielsen Ireland and our own Danny McCoy and Fergal O’Brien of Ibec.

Our panel discussion was particularly well received, featuring Declan Ronayne of Woodie’s, Frank Gleeson of Aramark and our award-winning SME retailer, Shirley O’Kelly of Timbertrove.

Speaking at the event, Retail Ireland’s Director, Stephen Lynam, explained that 2014 will see the start of a meaningful recovery in the retail sector.

Despite somewhat disappointing Q1 sales trends, there are signs that many consumers are returning to the shops after a long hiatus and consumer spending is now forecast to increase by almost 2% during 2014.

The conference heard that our industry has the potential to create 40,000 new jobs over the coming years, if the right policy, regulatory and fiscal conditions are met.

It has long been our position that an effective and sustained recovery can only become a reality when income taxes are cut to stimulate spending in the domestic economy and when there is a freeze on business costs.

Recent data show that, while the volume of total retail sales (excluding cars and bars) increased by 2.2% in 2013, the value of those sales remained static.

Essentially, consumers are finally buying more, but they are now paying less for it. This is indicative of the aggressive discounting required to attract and retain customers and is illustrative of the intensely competitive nature of the industry here.

Crucial

Despite all this, there was clear consensus that our sector plays a crucial role in Ireland’s economic revival.

Not only does it provide over 275,000 jobs – that’s almost 15% of all Irish jobs, it represents almost 10% of total Irish GDP and is also critical to our agriculture sector, with Irish retailers purchasing over €5 billion worth of Irish food and drink products every year.

The conference ended with a clear message to Government and wider industry: a thriving retail sector will generate billions in tax revenue for the Exchequer and create thousands of additional jobs right across the country.

A selection of images and copies of presentations and speeches from the day’s events can be accessed on our website at www.retailireland.ie

June 2014

11

Credit Control

Hardware & Homestyle

New account set up process I am often amazed at how little thought and effort is put into this vital area of a business. We put huge effort and resources into prospecting for new customers, then the whole sales process and even customer service.

The job of opening the account is usually a clerical exercise that is stuck in somewhere in the middle, and in some cases is done at the last minute because someone, somewhere is looking to print a delivery docket to get the goods out of the stores, or in the case of service, to log a service call.

You would not hand €1,000 to a stranger in the street and hope to get it back. Why would you deliver goods or service to someone you don’t know without first checking who they are, what they are, and, if you can trust them with the goods or service for the agreed period?

Start with a proper New Account Application Form that asks the right questions and

gathers the right information. (I am happy to help you with this if required).

Then you must have a process based on the amount of credit required, your profit margins, your place in the market, what your competitors are up to etc.

You need information before you can make your decision.

•Look to the agencies (E.g.

BusinessPro) for information you can buy to give you an upto-date picture of them.

•Use trade references to find out how they are performing.

•Get bank references.

•Use the Companies Registration Office website (www.cro.ie) •Use your Credit Insurer to verify the limits you are looking for.

•Use Google, Yahoo or Bing •Use The Irish Times or, for overseas customers, use ft.com – I know you can’t believe everything you read in the newspapers. Still, it will give

you a picture of how they are performing. Are they expanding or letting staff go?

Have a clear communications map of who (and when) needs to be aware the account has been set up – the rep, the sales manager, the operations people, the service manager, the boss, the marketing department – to apply pricing, bonuses or discounts, your IT department, the credit controller, the van driver. The better you communicate, the better.

This process is the root of all success and failure for your business. Make sure you take it seriously. Make sure the people doing it fully understand what they are doing and the implications of their actions.

Finally, ensure there is some type of management review of all new accounts opened in a week or a month. You just might be amazed at the amount of knowledge that is untapped within your own organization.

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June 2014

professional

Hardware & Homestyle

On the Record Ken Hughes is one of Europe’s leading retail shopper and consumer behaviouralists.

Over the past 13 years, as the founding director and CEO of Glacier Consulting, he has pioneered developments in shopper behaviour insight.

Boasting an international clientele, Ken has worked with some of the biggest blue chip names in the business but he is also clear on the advantages that smaller outlets can possess. He spoke to Martin Foran.

Making passers

Buy

Ken Hughes studies behaviour amongst shoppers and consumers. Put simply, much of his work concerns finding out what makes people tick and helping retailers hone in on this.

A lot of this involves putting oneself in the shopper’s shoes.

‘The fundamental thing with a lot of retailers is that they think about selling products,’ Ken says by way of example. ‘They aren’t; they are selling solutions. They are selling things that make people’s lives better and more interesting.’

Of course it’s very much what progressive retailers in our trade have been saying for ages.

‘No one buys a drill because they want a drill,’ continues Ken. ‘They want a hole. Or in fact they just want to hang up a picture.

‘If you try to sell them what they need as opposed to the product – that’s how you motivate people.’

Ken cites a recent campaign by a major retailer in our trade as a good example of getting the message out in terms that customers relate to. It’s about the ‘forgotten room’.

‘You can bang on about products but they (shoppers) may not be motivated by this,’ says Ken. ‘However, with this approach they think: “Yeah that room is a waste! We can fix that.” Then you drive people into the store.’

One of Ken’s favourite retailers is IKEA. ‘They have understood the virtual ownership idea hugely,’ he says.

‘This is the condition whereby you frame the product in a way that the consumer sees their world if they bought it.

‘The reality is that you see fantastic living June 2014

13

On the Record

‘An amazing grasp’ says Expert Chairman

‘We have worked with Ken Hughes and our members were very impressed with the information that he passed on to them,’ says David Baker, chairman of Expert Hardware. ‘He is of course absolutely right in everything that he says.

‘He has an amazing grasp of how retail is changing and what we as hardware retailers need to do to ride the wave instead of being swallowed up and drowned by it.

‘I’m a long time in the hardware sector and must say that in all of those years I have not encountered someone with the grasp of best practice retailing that Ken has.

‘In particular independent hardware stores are actually selling solutions first and products second.

‘Most hardware stores display their stock to suit their own space rather than putting the emphasis on “ how best to bring this product / range to life “ and sell more.

‘We, the independent hardware retailers of Ireland, need to change our approach to in-store merchandising. That’s why Expert Hardware have created a service to their members offering a dedicated shop layout & design service.

‘Included in that service is the option for the member to actually have the recommendations carried out for them.’

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June 2014

Hardware & Homestyle

rooms and bedrooms. They have framed it in a way that says: ”this could be your life through our products”.

Ken refers to some SME DIY stores that are still ‘trapped in the screws-in-drawers model’.

Even in some larger stores Ken cautions about the dangers of displaying products in a way that suits from an operations point of view but not necessarily from the shopper’s point of view.

‘The IKEA model says: “This is how the products will affect your life”.’

How does he work with retailers?

‘The first stage is generally ethnography.

We would immerse ourselves in the shoppers’ behaviour. There’s a lot of work put into understanding how people move around a store and how long they spend in that store.

‘Twelve years ago it was all manual.

We’d set up cameras and spend hours watching and we’d do shopper shadowing.

‘These days the technology cuts a lot of that out.

‘We have wifi tracking so we can track people from the feed on their phone. We don’t know who you are but know for instance you are number 113 in terms of wifi feed and were here last week.

‘We know how many times you have been here and how long you have spent in each aisle.’

They can then match that to loyalty card information and really do some clever analysis.

There are also experiments where they wire people up to see patterns of excitement or stress as they shop.

‘We can see if you are more engaged in one area than another for example,’ Ken explains.

Ken may work with some of the biggest

and the most high-profile in the trade, but not exclusively. He is also well versed in the advantages of smaller stores. Last year he worked with Expert Hardware.

‘A small SME has more potential for unlocking growth than a larger one sometimes.

‘Smart retailers can have more fluid retail space,’ Ken notes. ‘On a cold morning for instance, they can put bird nuts on the counter within minutes.

‘For a big retailer it takes more planning to activate that.’

On that point, some stores are getting to the stage, when, depending on the time of day, their displays can change.

Shoppers are getting more sophisticated too of course.

And this is going to get more pronounced. A huge generational shift is about to happen, Ken Notes. It is perhaps the biggest shift since the invention of the ‘teenager’ in 1950s America.

Of course it’s all to do with technology.

For instance, there’s the ‘digital native’.

These are shoppers, born in the 1980s and they are about to start turning 30.

Then we have BG and AG shoppers.

That simply means Before and After Google. And it makes a huge difference, apparently.

After Google shoppers are now turning 15 and 16 so they are going to become important and strong consumers and shoppers in the next five or six years, Ken says.

AG (After Google) persons in particular are fundamentally connected to each other in different ways. They want things, especially information, now. Their connectedness will have implications for what they want from retailers.

Won’t a lot of that involve not engaging with retailers but buying online?

The store becomes the place where you experience the product, is one answer to this. ‘Experiential retail is about giving shoppers a reason to come into the store,’ says Ken. ‘So, when they want products from your industry they will find their way to you.

‘Often people in IKEA have come for no particular reason. They have come for a browse.

How do you beat showrooming? By having an experience!

Again, the smaller guys can be better at building experience, says Ken. ‘Ultimately,’ he says, ‘it’s not about the products. It’s about the shoppers.

Retailers can end up focusing on the product mostly.

‘You need to see what the shoppers want – what are their needs?

‘We get too functional and start to forget about emotion.’

Emotion is one of the strongest ways of selling anything.

‘We do all this fantastic work outside.

But the minute the foot comes across the threshold we stop and just start

On the Record

Hardware & Homestyle talking about products and functionality and we can miss the trick in terms of using emotion.’

Going back to the bird food example again: Imagine if you put up a sign with a little picture of a bird that cannot get food. Now, compare that to a sign that says ‘20% off nuts today’! The latter just won’t have the same effect. You need to find the trigger.

Sometimes the trigger is more subtle such as scent marketing.

‘Point of purchase scent marketing has been a big breakthrough,’ says Ken. ‘Now we can imbue any point of purchase with a scent.’

The point is you are selling the experience. ‘If I am dressing the space in a DIY store for summer. I will perhaps have empty beer boxes stacked up,’ says Ken. ‘There are simple things that small stores can do.’

Again, this is the message. If a big store had to do a display

it might take ages in planning.

A small store is much more fluid and flexible.

Meanwhile customers are looking to make themselves happier, says Ken. A lot of times this means making themselves happier in their own environments.

The concept of the ‘staycation’ as a well known trend, backs this up. There are other sayings too. Like: ‘Staying in is the new going out.’

Naturally, there are implications for things like garden furniture and dressing your table etc.

Ken refers to the importance of giving people ideas, however.

‘Every project I work on there are always one or two buttons with regards to what motivates people.’

Learn these and you should see the rewards.

The problem is that many retailers have been using the same toolbox for years. Price,

HARDWARE_AND_HOMESTYLE_NEWS_co_PRINT.pdf

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promotion display etc.

These can be rather blunt instruments.

There are actually many other things that smaller retailers can do. As Ken notes, they stand behind the counter every day and know their customers better than anyone.

They are best placed to make a difference.

It all comes down to understanding your shopper.

So much information is now available through EPOS systems on this note, for example.

At the end of the day, as Ken says, it is not about trying to sell people stuff they don’t actually need.

‘Every house has a bulb that doesn’t work or something that needs to be fixed,’ he stresses.

It is about telling people that these things are in the store.

‘In this industry there are always a lot of things that people actually need – more than the particular item they came in for!’

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June 2014

15

Inspiring Retail

Hardware & Homestyle

Continuing our series of inspiring retail from around the world, Michelle Hespe catches up with Bianca Bonte, the managing director and founder of Kookwinkel Bianca Bonte, and discovers a charmingly rustic, modern cookware store in the Netherlands that pays homage to its surroundings.

Cooking up a

Dream At the 2014 Global Innovation Awards (gia) held in Chicago, Kookwinkel Bianca Bonte was honoured as one of the most innovative stores in the world. The store in the city of Oostburg has been lovingly run

by Bianca Bonte for 25 years.

Jury

A jury of editors and retail experts from around the world chose the store, alongside five others, to showcase the finest in modern retailing.

And Bianca could not have been more surprised. ‘As a member of Gemengde Branche, the Dutch organization for retail entrepreneurs, I regularly receive the Gemengde Branche magazine,’ she said.

‘And in it, I’ve read a lot about gia. All of the winners in the Netherlands are well-established names, so the thought

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June 2014

of becoming a gia honoree never even crossed my mind!

‘I just didn’t think my little store was on that same level.’

The judges certainly thought differently, and the loyal followers that Bianca and her dedicated staff have amassed over the years also believe that Kookwinkel Bianca Bonte stands out from the rest.

One of the many reasons that the quirky store is different is because it lovingly and cleverly absorbs the character and heritage of the area around it – a port city, in an industrial, working-class area.

Bianca recently renovated the store for an expansion and a fresh look that harks back to days gone by.

Using industrial elements synonymous with the port area, such as shipping container doors, corrugated iron sheets,

Instore demonstrations

exposed brick walls, rough and ready textures, concrete and warm wood floors, and even an old, large, free-standing stove, Bianca has created a space which one could easily see housing a funky New York advertising agency or a cool menswear boutique in an artistic Parisian neighborhood.

And that’s exactly what Bianca had in mind when she designed her store and finessed its style, giving it a rustic, wellloved, look.

‘People love being here in the store,’ says Bianca. ‘They feel comfortable and welcome.’

Experience

The process of entering gia for Bianca was one that highlighted the many aspects of how she has run her business for a quarter

Inspiring Retail

Hardware & Homestyle

Bianca may have room for improvement, but on the night of the gia awards dinner, all of her efforts and what she has done so far paid off.

‘I didn’t expect to win at all! Seeing my name appear on the big screen sent me into a daze.

‘It all went so fast, and I was so excited, that my memory of all that happened after my name was called out is blurred,’ she said with a laugh.

Success

of a century.

‘It is a good experience, looking at yourself and your business through a magnifying glass,’ she said in retrospect.

‘Entering gia was a time for great learning, and many ideas for the future of the business leapt up from it.

‘Even if you are not aiming for a gia award, I certainly recommend, to other retail entrepreneurs, taking a critical look at your business once in a while, because there is always room for improvement.’

It’s about an experience

Immediately after receiving the Global Honoree award, the gia Netherlands corporate sponsor Boska (a specialist in cheese tools) and Bianca posted the store’s success on FaceBook.

‘A press release was sent to local and national newspapers and press agencies, and these actions generated an enormous response,’ she says.

‘A radio journalist called me when I was still in Chicago, and I did a live interview for national radio. Lots of my customers also contacted me to send their congratulations.’

The day after the gia dinner, Bianca started planning a party for her customers, family and friends, and paying homage to the great experience she had in the US, she planned an American-themed party.

‘But to my surprise, friends and

‘I sought inspiration in the latest cool restaurants and boutiques,’ Bianca Bonte says.

‘But it was also about making the place seem homely, and we have so many online stores now with which we have to compete, so we had to put more emphasis on ambience and personal interaction.’

This of course harks back to something that Ken Hughes tells Martin Foran in On The Record, this month. It is about creating an experience. And if the smaller hardware store or a similar outlet feels that they have nothing to learn from this they should probably think again.

employees back at home had already done so!’ she says with another delighted laugh.

‘Winning this award 25 years after I started my store certainly is the icing on the cake for me, and for my staff.’

However it wasn’t all about the awards for the small team that travelled to the US. They all took advantage of the business trip and had a great time in Chicago, seeking inspiration everywhere they went.

‘Not only did we explore the International Home + Housewares Show with great enthusiasm, but we also treated ourselves to all that Chicago has to offer,’ said Bianca.

So the question is, with a gia under its belt, where to now for Kookwinkel Bianca Bonte?

“Well, this year we celebrate the store’s 25th birthday,’ said Bianca.

‘So together with the gia award, it’s double festivities the whole year through!

‘The gia logo has been added to my own logo and is visual on most printed and digital media and other corporate identity items.

‘Our gia award itself has a prominent place in the store, and publications writing about our award have increased, and as a result, we are receiving lots of new visitors both from far away and nearby.’

But nothing has changed in Bianca’s approach to selling her wonderful cookware. She is still a business owner focusing on selling great products to her loyal customers.

‘I love selling high quality products to those who love to cook and bake,’ she says. ‘That gives me joy each and every day.’

And after all the hype and the new business that it has created, Bianca has a message for anyone considering entering gia: ‘What are you waiting for? Go for it!

‘As someone who has experienced it, the whole experience of being there in Chicago and participating in gia was something we’ll never forget and always treasure.’

For more information about the gia (Global Innovation Award) program, the co-sponsors, or participating in 20142015, contact Piritta Törrö at piritta. torro@inspiredconnection.fi. Additional information on the gia program is also available online at www.housewares. org/gia.

For more information about the International Home + Housewares Show and to pre-register for the 2015 Show, taking place in Chicago on March 7-10, 2015, please visit www.housewares.org.

June 2014

17

The Home Front

Hardware & Homestyle

City Tiles & Bathrooms opens second superstore in Dublin City Tiles & Bathrooms has created a total of 16 jobs in Dublin and Cork following the opening of its second superstore which is located at the Red Cow Retail Park in Ballymount, Dublin.

Successful

The recent Dublin opening followed on from the very successful opening of the organisation’s first, 10,000 sq feet, superstore in Cork city which took place last September.

The new 8,000 sq ft superstore in Dublin is set to be a major attraction for new build, refurbishment and home improvement customers in Dublin and surrounding counties.

City Tiles & Bathrooms stocks many of Europe’s leading brands in sanitaryware including Laufen, Ideal Standard, Crosswater, Simpsons, Triton, Bauhaus, Clear Water and many more.

City Tiles & Bathrooms is also now the exclusive range distributor for Europe’s leading tile manufacturer ‘Tau Ceramica’. ’as well as stockists of leading factories such as La Platera, Pamesa, Zirconio and leading adhesive manufacturer Mapei.

There are over 200 tile options in floors, wall and kitchen tiles; 100 types of wood flooring including laminate, engineered and solid flooring; a large range of bathroom accessories, mirrors, shower valves and plumbing fixtures and fittings, as well as bathroom furniture.

Driving force

Owners Pat Roche and Michael Tyrell, previously of Tubs & Tiles, are the driving force behind the new City Tiles & Bathrooms superstore.

Pat said, ‘We saw a big gap in the market for a mid-range outlet which had the expertise in both tiles and sanitaryware as in our experience, many others, while offering both, usually only did one or other of them very well.

‘In terms of customer profile, what we are seeing is the welcome return of more first-time buyers to the marketplace as they had all but disappeared during the downturn. They are now benefiting from a quality product at prices far lower than they would have paid several years ago.’

Pat Roche added, ‘With 50 state of the art individual bathrooms designed to cater for every need and budget, careful thought and consideration has been put into design, layout and product selection to ensure that customers can see first-hand how the display models would look in their own homes.

‘The Showrooms are perfect for new build customers, home renovations, wet room requirements, and people who simply want to upgrade their homes with a makeover.’

Floor tile trends

Hollywood glamour as top model Michele McGrath poses with a mosaic of movie goddess Audrey Hepburn at the official opening of a second City Tiles & Bathrooms Superstore at the Red Cow Retail Park in Ballymount, Dublin which has now created 16 new jobs in Dublin and Cork.

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June 2014

Commenting on the latest trends in floor tiles, Michael Tyrell said: ‘Grey is the new beige and the traditional matt finish, while still popular, is being overtaken by fully polished or semipolished finishes.

‘The current trend is for floors that replicate stone and metal with wood effect floors proving particularly popular.

‘Thanks to new technology and production methods, it’s difficult to believe they Michael Tyrell and Pat Roche are not real wood – but without the need for

Hardware & Homestyle maintenance!

‘For wall tiles, mosaics are as popular as ever and the variation of coloured glass, stone and metal mixes now available provides an inexpensive and stunning look,’ Michael continued.

Pat concluded: ‘The current trend is for wall-

hung or floating furniture with wood effects in walnut, cherry and plum.

‘Mirrors with built-in bluetooth connections, allowing you to play MP3s and internet radio in the bathroom, are also proving extremely popular.’ www.citytilesandbathrooms.ie

The Home Front

What really goes on in the

Bathroom

File Picture: From Ideal Standard

A spy-in-the bathroom study!

Bathroom specialist Ideal Standard unveiled interesting bathroom research which provided some fascinating glimpses into family life.

No wonder, for most people, the bathroom is a sanctuary from which even partners and family members are excluded!

Optimise

The research – ‘Bathroom Behaviours; how to optimise bathroom space for modern households’ – came up with findings supplemented with quantitative data gathered from 4,000 people.

Behind the data lie some fascinating glimpses into family life: the parents who seek refuge from their families with long baths and

showers; the bathrooms that double up as laundries and dressing rooms; the flatmates forced to do their ablutions in unison.

According to the findings, 40% of us crave a new bathroom, but interestingly, for the most part, it’s not a bigger space that we lust after; just a space that better meets our needs.

‘The bathroom is a unique space in the home,’ said Dr John Curran, social anthropologist and author of the paper. ‘It stands out from other rooms in the home because it has to meet an array of needs.

‘It’s a room that transforms us from one state of mind to another and can therefore mark different personas we have throughout the day. These transformational characteristics mean that the bathroom is embedded in

everyday rituals – rituals that help define who we are.

‘However, the design of bathrooms – the storage, fittings, aesthetic and the variation in size – means that meeting all the needs of household members becomes a challenge, all the more so in light of rapid demographic change which is seeing a rise in single person, all adult and multi-generational households and households with older people.’

Some of the findings Parental retreat

For parents, the bathroom represents something of a refuge from family life.

June 2014

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The Home Front

Hardware & Homestyle

What are the trends for bathrooms in mid2014? There’s a lot going on as it happens!

Here’s some things we have noticed out there...

Water Saving People are facing up to the link between water saving and saving money. This will be even more apparent as the year progresses of course.

Bathroom as place of wellbeing The importance of the bathroom as a sanctuary from the stresses and strains of everyday life and living has continued and will likely continue.

Storage Integrated storage space is an important long-term trend in Irish bathrooms. Space in our houses is, as always, at a premium.

Clever solutions continue to impress.

Seamless Floors that run straight into the shower area, for example, give a simple and seamless look.

Natural materials A trend in the bathroom that has always been there to some extent. Wood, stone and wood effect tiles contribute to the effect.

Black is the new white?

We have seen the advent of new colours.

Black has even caught our eye in the shows and the international trade press.

Will it translate here or will white continue to predominate?

Cheap makeovers From bathmats, towels and shower curtain sets to soap dishes, toilet roll holders and bins, a new look can still be completed on the smallest budget!

Competing uses

And yet, whilst the bathroom can represent a place of retreat for parents, this is the group least likely to be satisfied with their current bathroom set up.

The bathroom reclaimed

Older people living alone or as a couple were most likely to be satisfied with their bathroom, suggesting a sense of reclaimed space once children leave home.

Adults only

For people living in all adult homes – for example students sharing a flat or families where the children have returned after university – the bathroom is most likely to be viewed as a purely functional space.

Hot showers and cold baths

The study suggests that more and more people rely on showers for their daily bathing routine.

It may be that we are coming to a time when having a bath in the main family bathroom is no longer a non-negotiable essential.

Have couples got it right?

More than any other group, couples are able to keep their bathroom spaces tidy and ordered.

Who spends longest in the bathroom?

•The average person’s morning bathroom routine (shower, toilet, basin) takes 25m59s.

•Women spend an average of 1m13s longer on the standard bathroom routine than men •There’s nothing to choose between the genders when it comes to bathing – of those who have a bath only 36% are choosing it over a shower as part of the daily routine •Under 30s are spending an average 1m39s longer on the toilet than over 55s – and they’re much more likely to be checking Facebook than reading a book •The French are the biggest bath fans – 50% of those with a separate bath use it at least once a day •35% of French households have no toilet in the main bathroom, while 95% of Italians have a bidet •18-30s want a bathroom space they can share, but showers for two get less appealing when respondents hit their 30s – by the time they hit their 50s the bathroom is a purely private space •Germans are the least happy with their current bathrooms, while the British tend to be the happiest

‘Best of Houzz 2104’ award for company Noel Dempsey Kitchen and Bedroom Design, a leading bespoke kitchen and bedroom design family-run business with headquarters in Ireland has won the prestigious ‘Best of Houzz 2014’ award by Houzz, the platform for home remodelling and design.

The business was chosen by 16 million users that make up the Houzz community in their annual survey and analysis that reviews the top rated building, remodelling and design professionals across the world.

The ‘Best of Houzz 2014’ award is given in two categories; ‘Customer Satisfaction’ and ‘Design’. The ‘Customer Satisfaction’ category is determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2013.

Noel Dempsey Kitchen and Bedroom Design’s work was the most popular among the more than 16 million monthly users on Houzz, known as ‘Houzzers’, who saved more than 230 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal idea books via the Houzz website, iPad app, iPhone app and Android app.

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June 2014

Hardware & Homestyle

Property boom in des-res playhouses for three-year-olds

The Home Front

A UK property boom is occurring – in the world of children’s playhouses – new figures have revealed.

Record

Sales are soaring, with parents paying record prices for the most desirable bijou versions, says retailer Homebase.

Instead of simple structures made from cheap materials, super sophisticated double storey cottages and up market log cabins costing over £500 are now commonplace.

Homebase buyer Helen Portess said: ‘Britain’s continual fascination with houses and property now begins when children are just three years old.

‘Owning an elegant, well-appointed playhouse is now regarded as just as important as owning the real thing. They’ve become status symbols for parents as well as toys for children.’

At one time, most children’s playhouses

were made from cheap scrap wood, cardboard – or even a bed sheet draped over a line between two poles.

Amount

However, the average amount of money spent on a playhouse today is £194.99 – with some customers spending four times that amount.

The number of playhouses in the UK has boomed. The Homebase Home and Garden Report 2014, in association with Nectar, which studied the shopping habits of over 60,000 people across the UK shows that over 13 per cent of all homes

with children now have playhouses.

Applied to ONS figures, that means almost 700,000 play houses.

Said Homebase buyer Helen Portess: ‘Today’s parents come from a generation when buying a trophy home was seen as an undeniable sign of being “upwardly mobile”.

‘So ingrained is this approach to property that it seems to be influencing their choice of playhouses too. As a result, children’s playhouses have become statements of aspiration.

‘We also believe that a desire to maintain social status may also be driving sales at the top end of the market.

Des res

‘Few parents are prepared to invite other children around to play in a simple homemade version knowing that these friends have a state of the art des res playhouse at home.

‘It’s a traditional, British Hyacinth Bucket approach to home ownership - but played out in miniature.

‘However, all of this is lost on the children themselves. Even the cheapest playhouses we sell costing under £20 will be immediately transformed into a luxury

palace - thanks to every child’s wonderful imagination.’

Many up market playhouses now have two storeys, balconies, split doors, window boxes for imitation flowers, and even windows glazed with plastic.

Others have a clock, an electronic doorbell, a pretend oven, and a convertible range which flips to become a pretend barbeque grill.

Among Homebase’s top sellers is: The Double Storey Cottage (£449.99).

‘A property of grace and distinction, situated in the rolling countryside of the back garden, yet conveniently close to the local facilities. It measures a colossal seven feet square, with easy-to-maintain, glass-free windows and has its own picket fence.’

June 2014

21

All-in-one Accounting & Business Management Software

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Business Wise

Hardware & Homestyle

Employee retirement is the subject of this month’s article in our series in conjunction with Russell Brennan Keane. With recent changes to the state pension age and general financial challenges facing individuals, this area is one where it pays to stay on top of current thinking and developments.

Managing retirement of employees Within the private sector In Ireland, there is no statutory mandatory retirement age for employees. Retirement age is therefore only defined as an express term in an employee’s Contract of Employment or as an implied term through custom and practice of the Company.

Employees are now under increased pressure to remain in employment for longer due to financial challenges, decreased value of private pensions and the increase in State Pension Age from 65 to 66, and as a result, there is a significant increase in litigation claims in respect

‘There is a significant increase in litigation claims in respect of employers enforcing compulsory retirement.’ of employers enforcing compulsory retirement.

Historically, employers relied on the Retirement Age clause in the Contract of Employment and the Employment Equality Act (Section 34a) to defend a claim, which states; ‘it shall not constitute discrimination on the age ground to fix different ages for the retirement’.

This is no longer sufficient and recent case law makes it clear that employers now need to objectively justify the compulsory retirement age and have a legitimate aim for enforcing retirement.

There is no definition for what constitutes ‘objective justification’ however, examples of objective justification may include the following: • Health and Safety concern – subject to requirements of the role and specific to employees in safety critical positions.

• To create opportunities in the labour market for those looking for work.

• Ensure better distribution of work between generations.

• To ensure quality of service provision and address an age imbalance within a workforce.

• To ensure motivation and dynamism through the increased prospect of promotion due to senior staff being retired, or, • To manage succession planning.

The developments of recent case law and the change in the state pension age, result in employers having three options available in respect to the retirement of employees: 1.Maintain the current retirement age and objectively justify 2.Change the retirement age to align with the state pension age and objectively justify or, 3.Remove the compulsory retirement age across the business.

Where a company continues to enforce a normal retirement age, they are recommended to consider the dynamics of their workforce and how they manage retirement in their business and address the issue so they can start planning for employees reaching the retirement age.

This process should involve; •Reviewing existing Contracts of Employment and the retirement clause.

In the absence of a written policy on retirement, consider custom and practice • What is the retirement age within the

Company, have employees worked beyond the retirement age etc?

•Implement a Retirement Policy which specifies a retirement age and the objective justification for same.

•Consider your existing workforce and engage with employees reaching retirement age – identify what their plans are and agree an exit strategy.

•Ensure a consistent approach in applying the retirement age across the Company.

If an employee requests to work beyond the normal retirement age, it is important to consider requests consistently and ensure that if the request is granted it does not undermine the normal retirement age.

If granted, offer a fixed term contract stating the reason the contract is being offered and that retirement will take effect on expiry.

Consistency

In summary, employers are not prohibited from setting Compulsory Retirement Ages; however, to be enforced the employer is required to ‘objectively justify‘ the ground for the retirement age and ensure consistency is applied.

To discuss how your business manages retirement or if you require support in implementing a retirement policy, contact Brenda Flynn on 01 6440100 / 090 6480600 or email bflynn@rbk.ie.

Brenda Flynn – HR Solutions Manager, Russell Brennan Keane

CIPD qualified and holding a Diploma in Employment Law through the Law Society, Brenda leads out the HR and Recruitment Solutions for clients across a range of sectors. Brenda delivers practical and expert HR guidance to clients across all fields of HR and is a lead consultant of the Firm’s HR Helpdesk service. Her expertise includes conducting HR audits, coaching management to successfully deal with employee related issues, change management and policy development. Brenda also specialises in sourcing, attracting and placing finance and accountancy professionals.

June 2014

23

Customer Service

Hardware & Homestyle

There is little doubt that the period now referred to as the Celtic Tiger years did damage in general terms to customer service in Ireland, says Charlie Boyle. Customer service overall went down the pecking order of priorities and staff recruitment and training lost its quality...

Master the

Charlie Boyle is Director of CSEI Contact Charlie at 085-7616749 Email - team@cseireland.ie Website – www.cseireland.ie

‘price- service Most customers want a balance of price and service and will not accept low service levels in exchange for a cheap deal. Moreover, there is also a substantial minority of consumers – one quarter - who will pay a premium for excellent service.

Excellent

In the training sessions which Customer Service Excellence Ireland (CSEI) runs, an early part of the evening involves those attending identifying what they themselves rate as ‘Excellent’.

It can be a café, a retail store, a holiday destination, a petrol station, a sports ground....anything that they have paid money for – a product or service – and where they have told at least three others about the experience.

Once this is done and the group have individually placed colourful post-it notes on the wall with their choices – they are asked WHY? ‘This is the interesting part,’ says Charlie Boyle. ‘Whereas there will be a variety of answers – “Friendliness” and “Service” will be most prominent.

‘This early exercise shapes what is to follow. The staff who are attending the training have now themselves set the tone that Friendly Service is the base and we build from there.’

Factor

The training session focuses on what is best for the customer and convenience is

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June 2014

’ balan

‘Only onein-four of customers who have an issue with a product or service will bring it to the attention of the business or organisation.’ another important factor.

From the slow paced browsing shopper to the: ‘I know what I want so give it to me quickly’ customer, retail staff must have the knowledge, skills and attitude to be able to adapt to all customer types in an increasingly competitive market.

‘The biggest mistake we are making in these tough times in retail is believing that price is the only customer consideration,’

ce!

Charlie states.

‘Most customers will pay a decent price and even a premium for a convenience and that includes great customer service.

‘Yes, there must be a realistic approach to pricing and margins – however there are many examples over the past few years where companies have improved their margins by increased customer satisfaction.’

Working towards excellence

Customer Service Excellence Ireland’s aim is to steer the businesses and organisations who employ them towards a 85% plus target of Customer Satisfaction.

This 85% plus is in their opinion the area of ‘Customer Service Excellence’. ‘Good is no longer good enough because anybody can be good,’ Charlie explains.

‘To make a difference between you and your competitors, achieving consistent and excellent service standards is the place to be.’

In the past 12 months while working on projects with the Cliffs of Moher, Heineken, Aurivo and many independent retail offers, CSEI has noticed an increased focus on customer service from the businesses.

Enquiries

This has resulted in an increase in enquiries about how the CSEI programme works. The programme can be as simple as a three-hour training evening or in the case of the Aurivo (formerly Connacht

Customer Service

Hardware & Homestyle

Create a Customer Service programme – Focus on the most important element – The Customer At the very centre of any Customer Service programme will be Staff Training. It is important that staff are allowed to express themselves through the training so that they are included in what is being proposed.

All sizes of business in every sector should have a clear Customer Service programme in place.

It should be extensive enough to ensure that it covers all major parts of what the business delivers, yet simple enough that everyone understands it.

This focus leads to Customer satisfaction which in turn leads to Customer loyalty.

Customer loyalty is priceless and it is within this area that so many positives emerge – repeat business, improved margins and customers telling others about you.

Gold) a two-year programme of continuous improvement.

Customers have an increasing demand for outstanding customer service and with challenges such as the growth of on-line shopping, the face-to-face experience must be at a level of excellence to meet that.

Convenient shopping and a great customer experience is still holding its own and that is the area where businesses should be positioning themselves for growth.

74% of Irish Customers will not complain nor indeed raise an issue – they simply walk away.

This is a problem across all sectors in Ireland. It’s a cultural issue and one that is changing but very slowly.

Only one-in-four customers who have an issue with a product or service will bring it to the attention of the business or organisation.

It does however represent a huge opportunity for those businesses who decide that they will make it easy for customers to raise issues.

‘It may seem that we are focusing on a negative here,’ says Charlie. However if we consider that, even in major organisations service breaks down, it is vital that it is spotted and fixed to the customer’s satisfaction.

‘The responsibility is not on the customer to raise an issue but instead for the business to create the environment and process whereby the customer helps the business by raising issues of dissatisfaction.

‘This in turn helps the

business in continuously improving its offer while including the customer in the process.’

A customer who raises an issue and gets it resolved and is then thanked for their contribution very often ends up a better customer than they were previously.

Customer Service is the next battleground for Irish Retail

There is little doubt that the period now referred to as the Celtic Tiger years did damage in general terms to customer service in Ireland.

Most businesses were overfocused on income. Extensions to premises were built so as to maximise sales, says Charlie.

‘New businesses opened and survived during that period

simply because the country was rich with cash.

‘Customer service overall went down the pecking order of priorities and staff recruitment and training lost its quality.

‘By the time the credit crunch came in 2008, there was a lot of damage done to customer service standards across most sectors and retail did not escape this.’

CSEI this year will seek to launch an Irish Index of Customer Satisfaction which will create a twice-yearly update of satisfaction scores and reports across 10 sectors such as Airlines, Auto sales, Banking, Retail, Tourism, etc.

Score

At present and according to recent CSEI sample measurement the Hardware/ Homeware/Garden centre sub-sector of Non-Food Retail is scoring around 77% in customer satisfaction.

By comparison, the Retail Food sector which includes Supervalu, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, etc is showing performances of around 82% in how it satisfies its customers.

‘The Hardware/Homeware/ Garden Centre sub-sector has been undergoing an interesting change over the past few years.

‘Ten years ago it was an Agri/Building trade-based model which is changing into a more DIY/Howeware/Garden one now,’ says Charlie.

‘Having said that, we find that the staff make-up is still predominantly male and the

Customer Service Excellence Ireland Customer Service Excellence Ireland (CSEI) was launched in 2013 as a programme promoting continuous improvement in Customer Service. The progamme is based across four pillars of: Awareness-Training- Measurement- Recognition.

In the 15 months since it was established, CSEI has been delighted with the response to its service offer with over 30 companies and organisations using elements of the CSEI programme. To date – Heineken, Bank of Ireland, Aurivo, Credit Unions of Ireland, The Gathering, Cliffs of Moher, Abbey Theatre, Failte Ireland and others are among businesses where CSEI have been or are involved.

Customer Service Excellence Ireland was started by Donegalman Charlie Boyle on his return from the UK, where he spent 13 years working in various Operation roles where Customer Service quality was key.

O’Neill’s Pub Group, Marriot Hotels, Premier Inns, Costa Coffee, TGI Fridays, Chelsea FC were some of the projects where Charlie was involved in programmes where improved customer service standards resulted in increased sales.

all-important female shopper is not as comfortable here as they would be in the centre of a Supervalu or Aldi.’

This is changing of course and the challenge is that this ‘softer’ side of the business is represented through its customer service to an everchanging customer base.

Recognition is important

For a long time and with success, US companies have been great believers in their recognition programmes.

This is now very much a UK and Ireland growth area and customer service recognition is important in several areas.

‘Let’s take a small Irish retail business with up to 10 employees where three or four of the staff are performing at a level of customer service excellence yet with no recognition’ says Charlie. If four staff are working their socks off in satisfying the customer and the others are a mix of ‘couldn’t care less’ and ‘it depends on their mood’ – then problems exist.

‘In the absence of company recognition, good, bad and indifferent customer service is equally valued by management.

‘Very soon, the top performers will sense that their efforts are undervalued while those who are basically swapping hours at work in exchange for a wage will see no reason to increase their customer service contribution.

‘Recognition programmes do not have to be complicated or costly and in fact the more effective ones are really simple.

Likewise, it is important for a business at the top of its game, to seek out recognition from an external source.

‘This raises morale within the business as well as making a statement of intent to its customers.’

‘This year CSEI is involved in a project with Heineken which aims to seek out the best Customer Service standards in the pubs around Ireland.

CSEI also offers an independent recognition of Customer Service Excellence to small businesses in a programme endorsed by Enterprise Ireland.

June 2014

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DIY Report

Hardware & Homestyle

With the DIY season in full swing we checked in with some suppliers to the trade to see what’s new. As usual everyone has been extremely busy with plenty of new offerings around!

Products to

DIY Excellence. ‘Quality Choice and Value’ are the words best used to describe the new range of Ciret decorating products now being distributed by Excellence Ltd. Adding to their wonderful range of household DIY decorating products such as Rustins, Briwax, Solvite, Antique Wax and Swarfega, Excellence are now becoming ‘the one-stop-shop for all of your DIY needs’.

The new Ciret range includes the brands: Kana Paint Brushes, Rota Rollers and the Prep range of decorating tools.

‘We are bringing some of the best quality Paint Brushes, Rollers and Preparation Tools to the Irish DIY market and along with fantastic quality products we are offering very competitive prices which will allow our customers an opportunity to enhance their margins on this very important category,’ we are told.

‘We decided that a mix of quality, a comprehensive range and a competitive price is what our customers want.

‘We have trialled the range with some professional decorator’s around the country and the feedback and response to the quality and price has been fantastic.

‘This is the time of year when everyone starts to decorate both inside and outside

Excellence. ‘Quality Choice and Value’ are the words best used to describe the new range of Ciret decorating products now being distributed by Excellence Ltd.

for!

and to have the Ciret range of Paint Brushes, Rollers and Preparation products on your shelf will certainly bring added value to your business.’

Rota Rollers. Rota Rollers are durable long-life Rollers, giving an all-round performance, coverage and finish. They are available in a wide range of fabrics, sizes and colours so there is a suitable product for any type of DIY job.

Kana Brushes. Kana Paint Brushes are high performance brushes and part of a range that includes mixed bristle, synthetic, cement to name but a few.

These brushes are suitable for all paints and varnishes and come in a variety of sizes.

Prep Tools. Prep Tools are ‘a must’ for DIY jobs, from filling knives to stripping knives; these products are durable and easy to use.

Manger’s. ‘Cleaning up with Manger’s.’

Manger’s firmly believes in helping people be prepared for everything before they set off on any DIY project.

‘As the producer of the original, and still the best, Sugar Soap, Manger’s are the experts on cleaning products for decorating; so we like to think we’ve got it covered when cleaning up those everyday

situations that can, get in the way of a decorating job.

Preparing Walls for Paint. What the inexperienced among us regularly forget is that our walls are hardly ever just right before we decorate. Generally, they’re not properly clean and can be covered with small holes you don’t need!

‘By using our ready-to-use Manger’s Sugar Soap Spray we can leave the surface chemically clean so that a fresh coat of paint adheres readily.’

For heavily soiled areas, it’s recommended to use Manger’s Sugar Soap Concentrate or the original Manger’s Sugar Soap powder.

Follow up by using Manger’s Lightweight Deep Gap Filler to fill any little holes for a professional, ultra smooth finish.

Treating Problem Stains. ‘Not just for use June 2014

27

DIY Report

Hardware & Homestyle

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June 2014

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DIY Report

Hardware & Homestyle before painting, our original, and highly effective, Manger’s Sugar Soap is perfect for getting rid of those awkward stains.

‘Its powerful cleaning action means it can be used to clean heavily soiled and contaminated surfaces and the low-foam formula makes it easy to apply.

‘It will remove dirt, grease, grime and even discolouration caused by the accumulation of nicotine smoke.

‘Also available in a convenient liquid concentrate formula, just add warm water.’

Remove, treat and prevent mould. Manger’s Fungicidal Spray kills and prevents the re-appearance of unsightly growths of mould, algae, fungi, moss and lichen for up to 6 months.

Its ready mixed, and specially developed for use prior to painting.

‘For large areas use our 2.5Litre Fungicidal Wash.’

Removing Paint and Varnish.

Manger’s Paint and Varnish

Remover is an extremely effective non Methylene Chloride paint stripper.

The non caustic, non f l a m m a b l e formulation is easy to use both indoors and out.

With its non drip formulation and minimal evaporation, it clings to vertical surfaces ensuring there is minimal waste. A great biodegradable for removing old product from walls.

Unblocking drains and pipes.

Clarke International

Manger’s Caustic Soda is a heavy duty cleaner particularly good for un-blocking drains and pipes.

It’s also highly effective as a paint stripper in areas with a severe build up of old product but remember be careful!

Caustic Soda can cause severe burns so safety procedures should always be followed to the letter.

Cleaning brushes. Manger’s Brush Cleaner is formulated with added conditioner to keep your brushes soft and supple and is ideal for removing

household paint from paint brushes, pads and rollers. It will clean gloss, emulsion and varnish and you can rinse it away in water.

Cleaning paint from surfaces and hands.

Manger’s Ultra Wipes have been specifically designed to remove various paints including emulsions, gloss, lacquer, varnish, adhesives, sealant, oils, grease, bitumen, dirt and general grime!

They are simple to use, fast and convenient – making them ideal for Professional Decorator’s and for DIYers to use at home.

‘Cleaning is just one of the categories in the Manger’s family. We also have a comprehensive range of Fillers, Adhesives and Solvents to help DIYers be prepared for anything,’ we are reminded.

For more handy preparation hints and tips consult with your Manger’s Preparation Guide available from PPG. Speak to your Account Manager for more details.

Varian makes its mark with new products!

With the painting season in full swing Varian has added some significant products to its already comprehensive range of paint accessories and sundries, namely: Two Synthetic Paint Brush sets •5 pack •3 pack •High quality •Offering excellent value •Most popular sizes to suit many jobs •Suitable for all oil and water-based paints Shed, Deck & fence 7”Roller/brush set •Suitable for use on wooden sheds, decking and fences

Leading tool and equipment supplier, Clarke International, has just released 24 pages of brand new products. Ranges including powertools, handtools, woodworking, metalworking, welding, air compressors and generators have all received new additions. Clarke has also added 3 new stoves to its extensive range of attractive, wood and coal burning stoves and fireplaces which add warmth and style to any home.

Founded over 40 years ago and with an ever expanding range of over 3,000 products, Clarke continues to offer top quality tools, equipment and hardware at unbeatable prices.

To view the Clarke 24-page new product brochure and to find your nearest Clarke dealer, visit www.clarkeinternational.com, email sales@clarkeinternational.com or call +44 1992 565333.

9” Exterior Roller & Tray set •Long pile padded roller sleeve & frame •For use on brickwork and masonry •Ideal for use on rough surfaces

June 2014

29

Products Brabantia expands profile range to include new stylish bathroom essentials

Colour-matching and complementing accessories with existing bathroom décor has now become even easier following the launch of Brabantia’s new Profile Toilet Sets.

Hardware & Homestyle the Toilet Roll Holder which is an elegant and fuss-free addition to any bathroom.

Solid

Each accessory is solidly made from corrosion-resistant materials designed to withstand the damp and humid conditions found in a bathroom or shower room.

All of these products come with an easyto-fix wall bracket which allows them to be wall mounted, making the job of floor cleaning easier.

Alternatively – except for the Toilet Roll Holder – they can be placed on the floor where they will remain stable even on wet surfaces thanks to their protective nonskid bases. www.brabantia.com

around with you, grab a Leatherman and ‘Leave nothing undone’. www.petersons.ie

‘Calor and Bloom continuing to grow the perfect partnership’

Calor was once again partnering with the team at Bord Bia’s Bloom this year.

The festival was the perfect opportunity for Calor to showcase its award winning innovation, the Calor Mini-BBQ.

Leatherman

Leatherman’s primary products are multitools and knives.

Perfect

Requirements

Available in either a Platinum, Matt Black or White durable coat finish, Brabantia’s new Profile Toilet Sets provide all your bathroom requirements.

Proving that beautiful can also be useful is the 5 litre Slide Bin. Thanks to the patented opening mechanism of this neat and compact bin, the lid slides in, upwards and back with a simple onehanded movement to reveal its practical 5 litre storage capacity.

It then closes discreetly, silently and automatically. The Slide Bin is very easy to empty and clean, and comes with a separate removable plastic inner bucket and detachable lid unit.

A stylish but discreet addition to the bathroom is the new Toilet Brush with Holder.

The brush has a special cleaning shape which cleans the lavatory pan thoroughly, even under the edge.

It also comes with a lid ensuring a tidy look. And for toilet rolls there is both the Toilet Roll Dispenser which has room for three spare rolls of toilet paper and also

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June 2014

Most Leatherman multi-tools are built around a pair of pliers with up to 21 additional tools stored in the handles, including knives (straight and serrated), screwdrivers (flat and Phillips), saws, wood and metal files, scissors, wire cutters and strippers, electrical crimpers, bottle openers and can openers.

Most models have a built-in safety mechanism that locks the active tool in the open position when fully unfolded. The multi-tools were originally manufactured to help people with all kinds of jobs, either in the home or the workplace.

The range has now grown to prepare people for all life’s adventures such as DIY improvements, outdoor adventure activities and, with the recently launched Raptor Medical Shears, emergency services personnel.

With full-size tools retailing from €49.95, there is a Leatherman to suit all customer needs. So confident are Leatherman of their quality, each tool comes with a 25 year warranty.

So instead of carrying the toolbox

It is perfect for outdoor cooking, in the garden, on the balcony or out and about.

It is stylishly self-contained with a large grilling plate, storage within for the 400g gas cartridge and handy wooden chopping board lid.

And if you’re cooking for a crowd, it also comes with a connector for Calor’s lightweight 6kg cylinder.

‘Calor’s Stepping Stone Garden was the perfect way for a wide audience to see the latest and most versatile innovation in outdoor cooking technology, the MiniBBQ,’ we are told.

The garden was designed by award winning designer Dawn Aston and contractor Alan Smyth for a modern urban lifestyle where a BBQ can be used, with its Geometric ‘star’ patio and functional ‘kitchen’ island and gravel area with ornamental, aromatic, herbal plants and fruits.

Unique

To complement this unique garden, Calor teamed up with Ireland’s own Druid Chef, Rory Morahan, to showcase the versatility of the Mini-BBQ with a number of demonstrations taking place featuring culinary delights – recipes developed by Rory for the BBQ from across all the daily time zones, everything from Morning Glory Breakfast Style Omelettes to the very latest in on-trend food from Brazil.

Visit calorgas.ie/minibbq for more information on the Calor Mini BBQ.

Products

Hardware & Homestyle

Exsparetise – a true one-stop-shop!

With their central location and new warehouse in Tullamore, Co. Offaly Exsparetise is described as ‘your wholly Irish-owned one-stop-shop for domestic appliances spares, consumables, small appliances and miscellaneous electrical products.

When it comes to spares they are authorised distributors for Qualtex, Hotpoint, Indesit, Dyson, Hoover, Candy, Electrolux, Zanussi, Whirlpool and Ignis.

Authorised

In the area of small appliances they are authorised distributors for Bissel, Babyliss, Remington, Numatic, Qualtex, Kenwood, Soteco, Quickclean and GIMI. In addition they supply spares and products from the following brands: Qualtex, Whirlpool, Ignis, Dyson, Hoover, Candy, Beko, Servis, Belling, Nordmende, Bosch, Siemens, DeDietrich, Flavel, Hitachi, Samsung, Smeg, Admiral, AEG, Maytag, Aldi, Argos, LG, Nilfisk, Miele, Panasonic, Bissell, Remington and Duracell.

With reps covering the 32 counties of Ireland every month, exsparetise will also merchandise stores to keep your stocks up to whatever level you like!

So the message is: ‘Don’t turn away customers looking for spares! We do the hard work. You get the profit and customer goodwill for sorting their problem!’ www.exsparetise.com

The Bin Strap

Bin Strap is an innovative product from Celtic Product Development Ltd which provides ‘an elegant and attractive solution to keeping the lids on wheelie bins sealed and secure’

causing annoyance to neighbours and local authorities.

The alternative of placing rocks on bins to secure them is unsightly as well as a significant risk to health.

To tackle the problem of littering, County Councils will fine home occupiers and businesses if their wheelie bins cause littering, especially in built up residential areas, we understand.

Simple

Bin Strap is the simple cost-effective solution to reducing litter pollution, creating a greener, cleaner environment.

•Easy to install and use •Fits all size wheelie bins •Long lasting, strong and durable •No more cleaning up spilt rubbish •Keeps bin lid closed in stormy conditions and when tipped over •No more using heavy rocks to keep bin lids closed •Prevents vermin getting at contents •Guaranteed Irish •Patent Pending www.binstrap.ie

Varian’s new products!

It’s the time of year again when painting takes centre stage. Against this backdrop, Varian has added some significant products to its already comprehensive range of paint accessories and sundries,

New warehouse

The company’s new warehouse in Tullamore is a result of Exsparetise’s continued growth with more and more spares and new small appliances being added every month! All of this, along with their future expansion plans, required the move to their new, larger, warehouse in Tullamore Town.

The extra space required is not surprising when you learn that they have 100,000+ spares in stock for NEXT DAY delivery and over 1 million on their database to order.

And they are not finished there. There is much more stock, including new brands, coming soon.

The company is also adding more hardware items all the time – for example: ironing boards, kitchen pedal/sensor bins, Steam mops, vacuum bags, TV/ SKY remotes, bulbs, filters for fridges and vacuums, etc., plumbing items, lubricants and batteries.

Also boasting more phone lines, there is a trade website on the way too for engineers and electrical shops throughout Ireland.

They are also authorised Indesit/ Hotpoint distributors with a special order lead time of only 2 days. Their delivery partners DPD ensure all orders placed by 4pm are delivered next working day!

Practical

Simple to install and easy to use, Bin Strap is an ‘essential and practical device’ for the home.

When the wheelie bin is blown over in gusty weather, the contents stay in the bin and not strewn around the locality,

namely: •Two Synthetic Paint Brush sets •Shed, Deck & Fence 7”Roller/Brush set •9” Exterior Roller & Tray set For more see our special DIY Feature this month!

June 2014

31

HR News

Hardware & Homestyle

This month Colin Madden continues his popular series on HR. In this instalment he asks: are you neglecting one of your most effective business tools?

Communication is the key It is one of the key differentiators between you and your competition – and an essential motivator of your own people.

As a business leader you cannot afford anymore to be merely good at communicating, i.e. by just getting the message across.

Effective communication must be seen as an essential leadership skill to excel at.

High-performance communication should start with clear, succinct and relevant content.

Mistakes Right. It’s that time again; you enthusiastically gather all your staff together for yet another end-of-month meeting.

Results

This is your time to take the lead, inspire and rally the troops to maximise results and create value.

However, the reality is you find yourself standing at the head of a darkened room rolling out the slides that you hastily put together the evening before that are cluttered with bullet points.

As you get into your pitch somewhere in the reflected light of the screen, you can see the faces of your staff, their minds obviously beginning to wander, their eyelids starting to droop and one or two whose hands have slowly reached towards their smart phones.

They are not inspired.

They are not even engaged.

In fact you’ve lost them.

When you first introduced these meetings the purpose was to engage with your staff, review business performance, and encourage exciting new ideas.

Instead they are leaving meetings depleted instead of energised. So what’s gone wrong?

Common

This is a common scenario played out thousands of times in businesses around the world with business leaders inflicting the same experience on their people.

Your ability to engage, inspire and get results is one of your most valuable skills.

In the 21st century, communication is no longer (if it ever was) a soft skill. It is a hard business driver not just to inspire your employees but also to win over external audiences.

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Having worked with business leaders from SMEs to large multi-layered organisations, I have found that one of the most common mistakes that speakers make is to focus on what they want to talk about and not on their listeners’ needs.

‘I want to tell you’… ‘I am excited about’ … ‘I have worked in this field for many years’, etc. They often believe that the best approach is to take everything they know about a particular subject and ‘data dump’ it onto their audience, and they will be effective. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most people in an audience are really only concerned with their own agenda

‘Effective communication must be seen as an essential leadership skill to excel at.’ asking, ‘what’s in this for me?’

‘Does what is being said meet my needs or could I be doing something better or more constructive with my time?’

When you are preparing to give a presentation think about your audience: ask yourself why should they care?

Relevant

Find at least three good reasons why your audience should want to listen and take the action you are recommending, i.e. make it relevant to them, e.g. what they have achieved, how they can make a difference etc.

Thinking about the particular demands of the company, industry, team or individual challenges can often offer insights that can be applied to capture their attention.

When you have found those ‘reasons’ you have found your opening.

Then structure your message by breaking down your main ideas into three or four clear sections with uncluttered slides so that what you are communicating becomes clear and leads to action.

Another key component of effective communication that is essential to achieving results in any setting, from presentation to meeting to conversation, is a dynamic delivery.

Impact

No matter how structured, compelling or relevant the message is if the delivery is poor it will fail to make any impact, e.g. if the speaker drones on in a continuous monotone, the content will not speak for itself.

To sell your ideas you need to be aware of everything from your body language to how you project your voice or use your eyes to engage your listeners.

By using the right amount of emotion, try to end with something compelling that can bring home your point and inspire your audience to act.

Effective Communication Gets Results:

Businesses where staff and management communicate well internally get more done in less time and with more passion; meetings are efficient, presentations are inspiring and those difficult conversations that are usually avoided become opportunities to connect and grow.

At a commercial level organisations that consistently communicate at an optimum level engage customers and stakeholders more readily and maintain the bond – and the business – over a longer period of time.

Colin Madden is a senior HR and Organisational Change Consultant and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) with over 25 years’ experience in recruitment, employee relations and workforce development including working at the London Development Agency (LDA), the Mayor’s office for economic improvement and skills, as a Senior Advisor on ‘People’. He can be contacted on cmadden@fsmail.net

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Tech Talk

Hardware & Homestyle Technology has dramatically changed housewares consumers’ shopping behaviour, thus expanding the opportunity to reach them before the shelf, says Michelle Schumaker, home goods branding lead for Google, Inc.

Housewares executives need to own the new ‘digital shelf’ says Google executive In a presentation to this year’s International Home+Housewares Show in Chicago, ‘Rethinking the Shopper’s Path to Purchase,’ Michelle Schumaker, home goods branding lead for Google, presented Google

human race as important as air, water, food, and shelter.

‘We are on the Internet two times more than we were just three years ago,’ she explained. ‘The rate of PC usage has grown 20 %. Today, we are all about multi device

current and future shoppers.

‘Instead of being limited by a 30-second spot on TV, both brands used the power of YouTube,’ Schumaker said.

‘Both companies created a conversation and a platform for their brand.’

‘Some brands are going above and beyond in the digital space.’

search data and the results of a new custom consumer housewares research study to help better understand the new technology-driven path to purchase, and help build targeted marketing strategies to own the new ‘digital shelf’.

Owned and operated by the International Housewares Association (www. housewares.org), the Show featured 2,100 exhibitors and 60,000 total attendees from more than 125 countries.

Fundamental

According to Schumaker, Google research reveals that one in three people consider the Internet to be a fundamental resource of the

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June 2014

usage and we are always online.’

According to Google research, people use their smartphone most often during the course of a day, followed by tablet, laptop/PC, connected/ steaming TV activity and then cable TV activity.

In addition, she said, about 84 % of housewares shoppers use the Internet to research products and 61 % didn’t have any brand in mind at the start of their search.

‘We don’t remember if we are online or offline anymore; it’s just living. With digital you can start a conversation, expand your brand, leverage technology and connect with the consumer.’

Schumaker also praised companies that have created mobile apps that shoppers can use, as well.

Locate

For example, Macy’s has an app that allows a shopper to quickly locate an item within their store, and Jenn-Air’s app allows a consumer to digitally place their appliances into a consumer’s kitchen so they can see how they would appear if they purchased the appliances.

‘The point is that some brands are going above and beyond in the digital space to make a connection with a consumer before shoppers go to the shelf,’ Schumaker said.

‘Don’t be left behind; make connections before shoppers hit the shelf. This digital is not going away, so use the power of technology to capture your next consumer and enrich their lives.’

Shoppers’ Path to Purchase/Add One

Two brands that have used social and Internet platforms to their advantage are Electrolux and iRobot, Schumaker said.

Both brands used two minute videos on YouTube – Electrolux with its ‘vacuum music’ and iRobot with its Dance Roboution – that created a connection with

Pictures courtesy of Electrolux

Hardware & Homestyle

Buy The Book

So far the summer has turned out not too bad. In fact going by the charcoal barometer, things seem to be working out quite nicely at time of writing. Once again our books page takes a defiantly ‘foodie’ turn!

Barbecue Eric Treuille Dorling Kindersley Now: £9.09

A great addition

A seasonal offering and a great addition to any barbecue display!

Encourage your customers to get adventurous and you should see an increase in sales.

Inspire customers to fire up the charcoal, grab the tongs and discover how to use smoke, spice and sizzle to mouth-watering effect with Barbecue.

Over 150 tasty meals include cardamom chicken tikka, prawns with salsa fresca, and chargrilled pineapple with rum glaze, plus you can complement your cooking with exciting salsas and salads.

Each barbecue recipe has full instructions for indoor grilling as well as outdoor barbecuing, with think-ahead tips telling the reader what can be done in advance.

There’s practical information on how to barbecue, using gas and charcoal, advice on the best tools, using fire safely and judging when food is ready to eat.

Barbecue is the perfect guide to grilling, indoors and out.

Me And My Job Name: Michael Gorman Current position: General Manager Topline Murtaghs Length of time in present role: 4.5 years Professional background: Retail Management What attracted you to your current position?

The opportunity to contribute to the strategy of a small but ambitious retailer. Following my father’s retirement after 43 years in the business I took up the position of General Manager and one month later we rebranded and revamped as a Topline Store. It was an exciting and challenging time to take on the role.

What do you see as your main goals and challenges in 2014?

This year we added another store to the group in Glasthule Co Dublin and we have planning permission in for a purpose built shed which will roughly quadruple our dry pallet storage capacity. Integrating these into the overall business is an immediate challenge for us.

Of course the greatest challenge is always to meet the changing needs of our customers. To that end and through the support of Topline we are rolling out plans to progress our in-store standards, our customer service levels and our digital communication channels.

What have been the highpoints for you?

I think rebranding as a Topline Store was a huge milestone for us in terms of our focus on Retail. The company was going through a lot of internal change due to several longserving retirements in management and I was very proud that our relatively young team took on and successfully completed such a progressive move.

What makes you feel most fulfilled in your job?

Developing successful relationships. We have worked with Community Groups, Suppliers and our own staff on lots of different initiatives over the last five years. In particular the working relationship we have developed with Topline has become central to our Retail Strategy.

Most important of all is our relationship with our customers without which nothing else would matter.

Realising the benefits of these relationships is a source of great satisfaction for me personally What do you see as the main challenges facing the industry?

The Internet, jump on the Bandwagon because it is real.

Check out our new website: hardwareandhomestyle.com

Is there anyone who has been inspirational to you or who you particularly admire in the industry?

I would have to say my father. He worked in the industry for 43 years and some of our biggest accounts today are ones that he initiated in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I still regularly call on him for advice.

What are your interests outside of work?

At the moment I’m enjoying running, it’s cheap and can fit easily around my schedule.

June 2014

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Room outside

Hardware & Homestyle

Ask a Simple

Question So there I was starting in a business where I knew very little about gardening and even less about retail. These were the days before courses and seminars were offered every week by different agencies, and before retail gurus were being used by many small businesses.

Learn

Therefore the only way I could learn what I needed was from shop-floor experiences and by reading every gardening and retail book I could come across.

In those days, when the internet was in its infancy, it was no mean feat to get books on retailing and it often meant trips to second-hand book shops and libraries to gain the knowledge that I needed.

Gardening books were easier to come by and these I collected too, often for no reason other than it was a subject I was interested in like garden designs or garden features.

It became a bit of an obsession if I’m honest and although I ending up doing

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courses later in my career and getting schooled by retail and gardening gurus, I still keep buying them.

Consequentially, 25-plus years later I have shelves groaning under the combined weight of retail and plant knowledge.

I have never had the heart to give any away (although I did loan some to others and never saw them again, Grrrr!) or to sell them on, as many have a connection to some remembered part of my retail – or gardening – life that I occasionally need reminding of.

Return

One book in particular sticks in my head, and I often return to it to read it again and again. It was – perhaps still is – published by the British Shops and Stores Association under the title Retail Selling and was part of a series on retailing books they first published in the mid-nineties.

It covers all the topics you’d think it would for a book of this type, from customer care to selling skills, plus all the

‘Retail management was a role that I fell in to pretty much by accident,’ writes Liam Kelly. ‘I never set out to be a gardening retailer, or any kind of retailer for that matter.

It was something that transpired due to a combination of opportunity and necessity in equal measure – and it’s a story for another time and a different article.

But it does have a bearing on the subject matter of this month’s article, so stick with me for a moment or two while I digress...’

other typical topics.

One of the chapters in the book is called, What is Special about the Product? and it deals with gaining the above mentioned knowledge and the learning of product benefits, then how to use this gained knowledge to sell to customers.

As retailers – and especially gardening retailers – this topic is probably not something we concentrate on, as we don’t ask ourselves often enough the question, ‘Why should a customer buy this plant or product?’

In other words, to paraphrase the book chapter, what makes it so special?

And this of course is where gained knowledge comes in to selling. Not just retailing knowledge but a combination of retailing and product knowledge, as both go hand in hand when trying to sell to your customer and both should be learned and taught in tandem.

For example, when creating signage for a product you need to know the benefits of the product, so you need to know the product, and you need to know how to

Room outside

Hardware & Homestyle create a sign that sells, where to place it plus how to merchandise the product – so you need to know retailing.

So, as you can see, both are equally important, hence my long preamble into this article!

But as with any subject, it is impossible to learn it quickly and effectively without having an interest in it.

Obvious

It’s also easy to spot this interest in others, as it is pretty obvious after a week or so whether a new employee has a curiosity and passion for what they are doing or whether they are just killing time – and sales for that matter.

Interested staff will want to learn more, they will read the back of fertiliser packets, studying plant labels and quiz those around them about the products that are for sale.

I know that it might say on their CV that they have an interest in gardening – which if true is good to have in this sector – but PDFs never refused pixels (to modernise

Needful Things: Many customers have their summer planting done but there are still plenty of opportunities for garden related sales and promotions, especially if the weather is kind!

• Large, colourful plants such as Hydrangeas, XL Dahlias, and jumbo perennials can give instant impact for special occasions. Make sure to stock some.

• Planted containers for the patios, front doors (and graves) still sell well as do nice full hanging baskets. (To replace those that dried out or just didn’t get done!)

• Fragrant plants such as lavender, and other larger potted herbs – rosemary is a favourite at barbecue time. Link sales perhaps?

• Watering cans, hoses and accessories will – hopefully – be needed. Advertise water butts as a way of lowering metered water costs.

• Promote liquid fertiliser and remind people to keep feeding their plants in order to keep them flowering.

Finally, keep a close eye on stock levels and clear old stock quickly by promoting it or reducing it. Don’t let poor stock sit on benches, as it makes you look poor!

a saying) so I wouldn’t take that as a certainty.

Watch them, encourage them and quiz them with regard to the products in the store. Are they learning? Are they interested? Have they potential?

If not then let them go, as no passion or interest means they will never gain the knowledge that they need to be salespeople and retailers. Not in the gardening sector at least.

You’re just wasting your time, their time and the customer’s time. This means losing sales, which should scare you a lot!

Of course you’ll have to give the ‘good’ ones some encouragement as I mentioned.

Common sense

By all means provide them with tools such as books, courses and gurus, which are now freely available, to help them gain the knowledge they will require but one of the best things you can do is foster common sense, with which they will find it easier to learn and to sell.

And what I mean by this is again the above-mentioned simple question, ‘Why will a customer buy this product?’

That’s all they need to think about for starters, as once they start thinking in this way then everything else falls in to place.

They will quickly see why they will need to know the basic facts about all the products they are trying to sell in order to be able to sell them to customers.

They should also see quickly enough

that they will require more than just product knowledge, they will also need to know how simple retail tools such as selling those benefits of the product or key attributes of a plant should be applied in order to close a sale.

This quest for knowledge is never ending once you keep that question in your head, ‘Why will a customer buy this product?’, as it leads on to how layout affects sales; what good merchandising can achieve; how POS signage can encourage customers to buy products and so on.

The key is knowledge and the quest for it. Knowledge is certainly easier to attain now compared to how it was when I was starting out (not that I’m that old!) so no excuses any more.

Just remember to ask yourself that simple question. (Don’t worry I won’t repeat it again.) I just wish someone had said it to me when I was starting off.

About Liam Before establishing Retail Services & Solutions in 2007, Liam was general manager of one of the largest garden centres in the country and has since worked with many garden centres, nurseries and hardware stores. Problem-solving ability, honesty and hands-on work ethic make him unique in his field, plus he can appreciate the day-to-day running of garden centres better than most, as he knows the products, mindset and ethos of the Irish garden retail sector. Contact him at lksolutions@eircom.net or visit www.lksolutions.blogspot.com June 2014

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The Final Say

Hardware & Homestyle

This is the time of year when we traditionally take our annual holiday to rest and recharge. We jump to the other side of the work/life balance scales. We fly and flop, catch up on our reading and spend time with family and friends. The weeks blocked out in the diary represent a light at the end of the tunnel, writes James Sweetman.

Work/Life

Blending Over the last 20 years as technology enhanced our connectivity and pace of life, the phrase ‘work/life balance’ has become part of our vocabulary.

Did you know there is even a Work/Life Balance Day? But what exactly does a good work/life balance mean or involve?

I like the analogy of the circus juggler who struggles to keep all his plates in the air. We do the same, juggling our work and personal life commitments.

However, some of the ‘plates’ we juggle, or priorities, will smash if we let them fall.

Self-imposed deadlines and workloads have more ‘bounce’ than our relationships with loved ones.

Forging a good work/life balance starts by distinguishing between the priorities we juggle that ‘bounce,’ from the delicate ones labelled ‘partner’ ‘children’ ‘fulfilment’ and ‘health’; the ones that will shatter if we let them drop.

What’s really important?

In the last few years, technology and mobile devices in particular mean we are never switched off; we can literally carry our work around with us.

We can complain about not having enough time, yet everyone has all there is. Each of us has exactly 168 hours per week.

Time is not the issue; the issue is ensuring that daily urgencies do not blind us from what is most important to us.

Without clearly knowing our daily, weekly, monthly priorities, our decisions

will be unfocused and we will feel a sense of overwhelm and stress; the classic symptoms of a poor work/life balance.

When we think of the word ‘balance’ we think of everything being equal, being evenly distributed. I prefer to view balance as being fluid rather than static, hence the word blending in the title of this article.

There are occasions when work requires more time and other occasions when family and social life require our full attention.

Work/life blending is about being clear as to what you want to achieve over different timescales and knowing what is important to you in each aspect of your life.

It involves making daily decisions, small regular adjustments to create the optimum balance for you, recogising that what is right one day, may not be the same as the next.

What’s your ‘ideal’ work/ life balance?

What are you aiming for? What does a healthy work/life balance look like to you? Unless we can imagine something different, it will be difficult to create it.

As with any goal or desired result, it is difficult to know if you are on the right track unless you know your destination.

Whilst we can dream about winning the lotto and wandering barefoot on a desert island, we need to be practical too.

‘We can complain about not having enough time, yet everyone has all there is.’

When we examine our daily habits, there is often some wiggle room, small changes we can make which over a period of time will enhance the quality of our lives.

Having more Fun

Most people I work with in the area of work/life balance simply want to have more fun and relaxation in their lives.

They are so busy with the business of life; they are missing the juice of life, the laughter, the enjoyment, the adventure, the joy, the fulfilment.

So if we cut to the chase, a question worth reflecting upon is – how can I have more fun in my life?

For the perfectionists reading this, balance doesn’t mean doing everything.

Achieving balance means knowing what you can and cannot do. It also means recognising that you cannot be all things to all people.

A balanced life is a journey, not a destination. There is no pre-defined map, you are both the mapmaker and the traveller, you plot your own course.

So if you are fortunate enough to be taking some time off this summer, have fun and refuel, but at the same time get curious about how you can bring that holiday spirit back into your life for the other 50 weeks in the year.

James Sweetman is a Business & Personal Coach specialising in assisting businesses and individuals realise their potential. He works both on a one-2-one basis with clients as well as delivering workshops on a range of topics including Communication Skills and Motivation. For more information on all his services visit www.jamessweetman.com. Or e-mail him at james@jamessweetman.com You can subscribe for free to James’s monthly ezine at www.jamessweetman.com and follow him on Twitter @JamesSweetman

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