Royal visit to celebrate Belling's 100 years of trading

Chief executive of Belling Denver Hewlett
recieves the Queen's Award for Enterprise
from His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent

As part of Belling's centennial celebrations, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent visited the appliance manufacturer and presented its parent company GDHA with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The Duke was given a tour of Belling’s headquarters and factory to see how its cooking appliances are manufactured in the UK. In addition, he was given a presentation about Belling’s commitment to British manufacture.

Celebrity chef and Belling brand ambassador Brian Turner also gave a cookery demonstration, using the company’s appliances.

Concluding the visit, the Duke officially presented Belling’s parent company, Glen Dimplex Home Appliances with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. It was given to the manufacturing group, earlier this year, after overseas sales of its British-made products increased by 880%. 

The Queen's Award for Enterprise is an accolade for business performance, and recognises and rewards outstanding achievement. They are made each year by Her Majesty the Queen, on the recommendation of an advisory committee, including representatives of Government, industry and commerce, and trade unions.

Speaking at the ceremony the Vice Lord Lieutenant said: “You have built a reputation for excellence and I want to congratulate you all on your success, for the Queen’s Award is a great honour to all the people involved in every aspect of the business.

“It is the result of vision, commitment, application and sheer hard work by you all. The award recognises the results of teamwork under positive leadership and it certainly sets a standard of achievement that will be hard to beat. I’m sure Glen Dimplex will continue to prosper to the benefit of those you employ, the county of Merseyside and, indeed, the whole United Kingdom.”

Denver Hewlett, chief executive of Belling, said: “It is a hugely significant year for Great Britain, the Royal Family and Belling and it was a real honour to welcome the Duke to our headquarters to help mark our centenary celebrations.

“Belling has a rich heritage and has played an important role in British manufacture for the past century. It was fantastic to be able to commemorate this by showing the Duke how our appliances are made right here in Liverpool and give our dedicated and hardworking staff the opportunity to be part of this momentous day.

“Being officially presented with the Queen’s Award from the Duke rounded off a wonderful occasion – it is an accolade that we are extremely proud of and marks many years of hard work by people across the business.”

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Belling reveals 100 Collection



(L to R) CEO of Belling Denver Hewlett, plus
sales and marketing director Jonathan Casley

 Celebrating 100 years of trading, Belling revealed its 100 collection of limited edition cooking appliances at The Savoy in London. The 100 Collection includes four freestanding cookers, four built-in models, with the same white and chrome aesthetic carried through to a Baby Belling. The appliances span a choice of fuel options from electric, through to gas and even a dual fuel cooker.
For each 100 Collection appliance sold, Belling will donate money to its chosen charity Anthony Nolan. The Anthony Nolan Trust saves the lives of people with blood cancer who need blood stem cell or bone marrow transplants.
CEO of Belling Denver Hewlett commented: "In putting together the 100 Collection we wanted to create a range of products across all cooking categories that celebrated our heritage as a great British brand whilst also looking to the future. The result is a collection combining some of our most successful products with a limited edition, super-modern finish.
"We are also proud to be supporting stem cell charity, Anthony Nolan this year and will be making a contribution from sales of the 100 Collection alongside a a number of other fundraising activities."

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Belling strikes 100 - not out!

MD of GDHA, Denver Hewlett

Appliance brand Belling is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year. Denver Hewlett,  MD of parent company Glen Dimplex Home Appliances, talks exclusively to K&B News about its success and says retailers should be optimistic about appliance sales

Belling is one of the UK’s most recognisable cooking appliance brands, having traded successfully for 100 years. During this time, it’s seen the launch of the Baby Belling – a combined oven and sealed electric hob used on the worktop – and more recently introduced a built-in oven with induction plate.

Denver Hewlett, managing director of parent company Glen Dimplex Home Appliances (GDHA), says Belling’s ability to introduce ideas like these has been key to its success.  Marketed as a good value for money, family brand, its perhaps then surprising Belling has been instrumental in driving appliance design and technology. Denver continues: “It’s been quite innovative over the years and had quite a few firsts. [Belling] was the first company to make a fully enamelled cooker and was the first to market a 600mm slot-in cooker. I used to be a retail customer of Belling and there was a waiting list for up to a year to be allocated a freestanding, slot-in cooker from Belling. And they used to sell for £699.” He continues: “[Belling] created the first fan oven as well.”

But it’s not just about the functionality of the ovens; Denver says the company has focused on the design of the products too. In fact, as part of its 100^th anniversary celebrations, Belling is set to unveil the 100 Collection, at London’s Savoy Hotel in March, which will feature a new fascia aesthetic. And the launch is being supported by an updated website, with revised logo and trade campaign. In addition, for each 100 Collection appliance sold, Belling will be donating money to charity, which will be chosen by its Facebook fans.

With all of Belling’s accomplishments, and its upcoming launch and celebrations, it could be difficult to choose the most significant, achievement over its 100 years trading. But Denver is adamant that it the longevity of the brand: “We’ve been around for a long time and we’re still here. That’s the biggest achievement. We’re still relevant to the marketplace. The brand has really kept up with the times and progressed and we’ve kept it really in-line with the trend of what people want and what they expect”.

And he’s equally positive about appliance sales in the current market. He says: “It’s challenging. But I always try and be optimistic about these kinds of things. If the market is 55 or 10% down, whatever people say it could be or might be – it still means there’s 90% of the market to go for. There are still lots of people buying appliances. There are still lots of people buying kitchens. Sometimes when you listen to people, you’d think people have stopped spending money altogether but they haven’t. It’s just making sure that you get your business in front of those people. It is hard. It is tough. But you’ve got to get on with it and be sensibly optimistic because things will get better, people will start buying again, and house prices will start moving up again. I think [retailers can help] by making sure they’ve got the right product, at the right price, on the shop floor and by offering the right sort of service.”