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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Samsung equips floating Eco Home

Samsung has provided the appliances for a sustainable, floating home, based in St Katharine's Dock, in London. Inachus, which takes its name from the Greek river god, is set over three floors and is said to be one of 40 dwellings in the UK with Energy Level 5 status.

The home achieves zero heating, ventilation and lighting carbon emissions, including using sunlight to warm the house and a wireless system to control lighting, heating and audio. It is the latest development in Sanitov Floating Homes’ Future-Cities project, plus and features a number of Samsung’s appliances, including Dual Cook steam oven, Eco Bubble washing machine and G Series three door refrigerator, as well as a gas hob and four burner anyplace induction hob are all on display. The Navibot vacuum cleaner, Solo microwave oven and three of its latest LED TVs are also inside.

According to Robert King, vice president of consumer electronics at Samsung UK and Ireland: “One of the key concepts of the project was to draw on the latest technology to create a spacious, flexible, comfortable, interactive and connected eco-friendly home environment. Some of the key requirements to establish that environment centered around products with premium design, smart-connected technology and of course energy-efficiency.

“Samsung as a leading manufacturer was able to offer world class products that met a lot of those requirements, not just in categories that you are more than familiar with such as our TV category, but in the growing areas of development for Samsung, including home appliances and our leading mobile devices and entertainment systems.”

Samsung appliances can also be seen in London at a recently opened a pop-up branded showcase in luxury department store Harrods.

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CEO of BSH UK believes industry “self-guidance” best for appliance safety

CEO of BSH Home Appliances UK, Michael Steinle has stated it is the industry’s responsibility to ensure appliance safety, not government. His comment comes after a Which? investigation into appliances that have caught fire and its call for government to collect and analyse fire data and alert manufacturers.

Although he wouldn’t be drawn on the Which? report or to the specific issue of faulty appliances causing fires, Steinle stated on the topic of appliance safety: “I think the appliance industry has a responsibility and I took that onto the place of AMDEA [Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Electrical Appliances]. We discussed it and it is an industry goal and objective. It means open communication and taking up our responsibility to the consumer. That’s what we hope to achieve and what I want to achieve – all the white goods manufacturers following a guideline because that is what you have to do. [Issues regarding safety] influences [all appliances] negatively, [whether] it’s brand A, B, C [or] D.”

He continued: “It was clearly targeted from me into AMDEA that we have to have a common objective and we have to follow it. So it’s self-guidance. If you forward the responsibility to an external body, Government or whoever it is, does it work? We think we follow our responsibilities. We did follow it and we have a very good example [of doing that] over the last year. We went through the process and we took up our responsibility.”

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EDITOR'S COMMENT: Appliance brands under fire

Kitchens & Bathrooms News
Editor Philippa Turrell

The kitchen appliance industry could be placed under close scrutiny. Consumer watchdog Which? is calling on the Government to collect information on house fires, caused by faulty appliances, by brand. While some fire brigades already collate information on makes and models of appliances, it is not a statutory requirement in the UK and is not readily available to the public. Which? wants greater transparency to ‘alert manufacturers to faulty appliance and give consumers greater protection against these appliances’.

No-one would question the importance of safety for kitchen appliances. Of course the information would be useful for manufacturers to stop the issue ever re-occuring. But how could this information be passed to consumers without incurring widespread, national panic?

It is distressing enough when particular models, by particular manufacturers, have been the cause of household fires and worse still injury or death. Although one fire is too many, just how many cases or what percentage of fires would require a witch hunt?

When it was widely reported, last year, that selected Beko frost-free fridge freezers had been the cause of household fires in the capital, the manufacturer was already working with the London Fire Brigade, Trading Standards, had informed retailers and was using social media to contact customers. That’s before it had to increase its customer call centre five-fold to deal with incoming calls, following the publicity.

And herein lies the second issue, when would consumers actually be informed? Would it be on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis? Surely a major problem in providing statistics on appliances that may pose a fire risk lies in the fact they have to first be bought, and then installed, before any potential incident could occur. So in reality, how useful could this information be to consumers? And in fact, would the information be that accurate anyway, when an appliance model cannot be identified because it’s been ravaged by fire?

Consumer safety is of major importance to all kitchen (and bathroom, for that matter) professionals. And I’m sure that no matter where you work in the supply chain, all of you will endeavour to make home design as safe as possible. I just wouldn’t want to see the kitchen appliance industry held up as a scapegoat, with statistics created to provide a shocking headline for the sake of tabloid readers in ‘appalled’ middle England.

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.”

BrIT Girl: Can you beat The Cube?

Assistant editor, Britta O'Boyle

Electrolux has created travelling pop-up restaurants, called The Cube, to celebrate its 90^th anniversary and showcase its professional and domestic appliances. No clues for guessing which lucky girl was invited to its latest destination – Milan!

Pop-up restaurants have become a global phenomenon – from Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Bar (brilliant name) on London’s South Bank through to The French Laundry at Harrods, which opened for just 10 days. You snooze you lose. It was only a matter of time before the kitchen industry embraced this bang-up-to-trend culinary movement. And boy am I glad it has!

Appliance brand Electrolux has taken the lead with its pop-up restaurant, The Cube. In fact, since last year, there have been two Electrolux Cube restaurants travelling throughout Europe, to arrive on-top of landmark sites for just three months. Now you see them, now you don’t. I wonder what the sight-seers have to say about this!

Electrolux Cube pop-up restaurant on top of Milan building

Electrolux introduced its The Cube pop-up restaurant to celebrate 90 years of professional heritage. And fresh from its jaunt to Brussels, The Cube I was invited to visit had just landed in Milan. The 140sqm restaurant has been located on top of Number 1 Via Ugo Foscolo in Milan – overlooking the cathedral - and will be there until April 26. Then it makes its way across to the UK later this year. I must admit, I am very much looking forward to finding out which London building it will be landing on, any thoughts?

From its lofty position, The Cube claims to offer ‘fantastic tastes and never before seen views’ – a big statement? No. Not in the slightest. With the landscape and the beauty of the building itself, it was pretty incredible and quite frankly made me speechless (not an easy accomplishment).

The Cube not only looks uber-stylish (understatement of the year), but its design is pretty clever too. It boasts a table, which seats 18 guests, that drops from the ceiling for meal times. It overlooks the kitchen featuring professional and domestic appliances. And when the meal is finished, the table raises back into the ceiling, allowing guests to mingle for post dinner drinks.

Don’t even get me started on the food! One word – amazing. Seven courses (I know) were prepared by Michelin Starred Chef Andrea Sarri, one of 13 chefs on a rotation system whilst in Milan. The chefs are selected from the country the restaurant is in and they must work with Electrolux professional equipment within their kitchens. But with 50% of Michelin Starred restaurants around the world using the equipment, they aren’t stuck for choice.

The Electrolux Cube also allows guests to interact and learn from the professional chefs, ‘inspiring its guests with a once-in-a-lifetime’ and ‘memorable’ dining experience. I’m sure they probably won’t be forgetting the brand anytime soon either!I’m not joking when I say it’s not marketing fluff. The restaurant might be temporary, but it certainly won’t be something I forget in a hurry!

Beko invests in online

Appliance manufacturer Beko has invested in digital presence with a website re-launch, digital advertising and online competitions. The Beko website has a revised look and includes additional functions, with products given greater prominence through hero products.

Since the revamp, the website has doubled the number of visits compared to the same time last year. According to Beko the ‘where to buy’ page has also seen an upturn, with consumers using the page to find dealers of Beko products.

Many of the hero products on site are the same appliances that featured in the company’s Autumn TV ad campaign, which launched during the X factor.

In addition, Beko is also set to run a series of competitions and online advertising campaigns with high-profile home, family and lifestyle consumer websites.

Marketing director of Beko, Teresa Arbuckle commented: “Our brand came of age this year, when we celebrated 21 years of trading in the UK. To celebrate how far we’ve come, and to really show off some of our forward-thinking and innovative products, we’re delighted to be investing in digital technology and media, and reaching our consumers in a way that is meaningful and relevant to their evolving ways of living.”

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Haier expands UK operation

Household appliance manufacturer Haier has moved to larger premises, with a showroom facility, in Ealing, West London.

Its 353 sqm offices and showroom have been designed for use by its trade customers and to ensure the brand has room for expansion in the UK.

In addition, it has opened a warehouse in Nottinghamshire with 30 times more storage than its previous facility in Aylesford, Kent.

Haier provides cooling, dishwashing and laundry appliances, as well as TVs and recently launched a nationwide consumer campaign for its MyZone refrigeration.

Its 3D fridge has scooped a Which? Best Buy and its Glass Design cooling range won an IFA Preview Award.

Jeff Moody, sales and marketing director at Haier UK, commented: “The move from Godalming [in Surrey] to Ealing, which gives us three times more space, clearly reflects our continued determination to consolidate and grow the Haier brand in the UK.

A natural step, following the opening of our first UK warehouse earlier this year, we are committed to achieving our goal to become one of the top 5 European and UK home appliance brands by 2014.”

Blomberg enters built-in market

Following its launch in the UK last year, appliance brand Blomberg is set to extend its offer with the introduction of built-in models.

Blomberg entered the UK in May 2010 with a range of laundry, dishwashing and refrigeration products, with exclusive distribution in over 200 Euronics stores.

It now plans to introduce built-in ovens, hobs, a 10-litre dishwasher, a 7kg washing machine, combi frost-free fridge freezers, as well as a larder fridge and freezer.

All of Blomberg’s built-in ovens are A+, making them 20% more efficient than a standard A rated oven, and span from a single fan oven to a multifunction ‘programmable clean’ pyro model with electronic animated timer.

The hobs include ceramic touch control, gas hob with wok burner and a four zone induction hob.

All Blomberg appliances come with a three-year warranty, as standard, and the brand is sold in 50 countries worldwide.

Marketing director of parent company Beko, Teresa Arbuckle commented: “Following a strong start for the brand in the UK, we are delighted to be extending our Blomberg offering with this new range of premium built-in. Innovation and quality are at the forefront of Blomberg’s design, and with these new integrated models this is more evident than ever".

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Scholtes shock UK exit

Premium appliance brand Scholtes has pulled out of the UK with immediate effect, leaving around 45-50 retailers in the lurch.

The announcement has left the industry shocked and bemused by its timing as it follows just four weeks after the opening of its Centre of Excellence on Wigmore Street in central London.

Adam Woolf, marketing director of the Indesit Company, commented: “Scholtès is pulling out of the UK and will not return for the foreseeable future.”

He added: “The company is committed to maintaining a significant investment in the built-in market by innovating in new products, unique design and advertising. However, to ensure that our customers and consumers fully benefit from our developments, we have decided to channel our investments into our high end LUCE by Hotpoint brand, which is gaining rapid momentum in the market place.

According to Woolf: "A couple of years ago when we launched Scholtes, we also brought another brand into the market place called LUCE by Hotpoint. Both these brands were brought into the market place really off the back of a time which was quite a strong economic growth. And as you know, the market has changed and is probably going to be what it is for the foreseeable future.

"We felt it was the right decision to focus our investment on the LUCE brand which is by Hotpoint, as oppose to Scholtes. What we have seen is LUCE has gained phenomenal momentum in the market place, it has really captured the kitchen studios and kitchen specialists imagination. And it is already far bigger than Scholtes."

Jason Verdi of Verdi Kitchens in Croydon is a Scholtes centre, with 12 working appliance displays, and was stunned when he found out about the appliance brand withdrawal: “We’ve invested into it quite heavily. We’ve advertised and just spend £4,000 on leaflets. I just couldn’t believe it when the rep phoned me”.

Ray cooper of Freestyle in Worthing has nine Scholtes displays across two showrooms: “We’ve cut into granite tops, Corian etc to make way for the unusual size that some of their products are. We did quite a good deal with the product, itself, but it’s the fitting of displays. The on-going cost of replacing those displays, including repairing worksurfaces, will run into thousands.” 

Kitchen retailers are dismayed about the short notice of the withdrawal.

Jason Verdi says parent company of Scholtes, the Indesit Company should have informed the retailers before the decision was taken: “Before it even happened they should have got hold of the retailers and said ‘what we’re doing is pulling out of the UK but we’re going to make it a smooth transition through. From a business point of view, I don’t know why they did it. All they say that Italy in the economic climate just pulled the plug.”

Ray Cooper said: “We’re a bit up in the air at the moment. I spoke to their business development manager and also one of the reps. I’ve been told that I’m going to get the products that I’ve already got on order but they are not sure what’s happening with the displays. It leaves us in the lurch because I’ve got products on display, which I can’t sell. I don’t know what I can do with them. I’m very disappointed at the short notice. I was notified by VZUG.”

He added: “They’ve intimated to me that they might be a deal on the table to replace it with some Hotpoint”.

But Verdi commented: “I’m half tempted just to tell them all to sod off, to be honest. We always want to work with people who want to work with us. It’s not a case of it goes on the shop floor, we get it in cheap and we sell it out 4-5 weeks later and we make a packet on the appliance. We’ve got a kitchen going in January with six of [Scholtes] pieces in.”

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Scholtés opens Centre of Excellence



Showroom based on central theme of 'Primitive Future'



Award-winning designer Patricia Urquiola has created the Centre of Excellence in London for premium appliance brand Scholtés. The 300sqm space situated in the famed area for kitchens Wigmore Street, in Central London, spans across two floors. 

It has been designed to have three distinct uses; as a showcase for appliances, training and workshop area for live cooking demonstrations and tastings, and even an exclusive restaurant for private dining.

Patricia Urquiola commented: “The concept was to do a space for giving services, which is the kitchen, a live place [for cookery demonstrations and private dining] and the showroom, just to display the items but in a way that was not a fake kitchen.”

It’s not only the use but the styling of the showroom that sets it apart from traditional kitchen or appliance studios. Based upon a 600 x 600mm module, the same dimensions as a Scholtés oven, the showroom is themed upon the core idea of ‘Primitive Future’, a deconstruction of a typical environment to re-interpret how retailers and consumers interact and understand appliances in a studio.



Working kitchen for cookery demos
or private dining experiences

Certainly the raw but welcoming experience focuses the mind on the look and uses of the Scholtés appliances. It features copper walls, throughout, with smooth wooden display area for the appliances on the ground floor. This is complemented by a textured wood kitchen, in the basement, designed to be used either as workstations for cookery demonstrations and training, or as a private dining area.

Electrolux Design Lab names winner

Electrolux named the winner of its Design Lab contest as Adrian Mankovecky from Slovakia who carried away the title for his Portable Spot Cleaner, at Room Home Intelligence at the Business Design Centre in London. His design concept was a small cleaner that refreshes clothing and removed stains with steam and ions.

He beat a field of 1,300 industrial design students throughout the world who were asked to consider the theme of ‘intelligent mobility’. The entrants were invited to create home appliance ideas for how people prepare food, clean and do dishes both within and beyond the home. It demanded the appliances should be more potable and provide flexible control to liberate people from being in the home. The brief also requested that the ideas offer personalisation and inspire users, while using technology to offer support and guidance.

The jury, which included Danish design Cecilie Manz, award-winning architects Hayes and James Slade and Henrik Otto, senior vice president of global design at Electrolux, was impressed with Mankovecky’s thinking.

The reason for naming Adrian Mankovecky the winner was given as : “The Portable Spot Cleaner is built on a very solid consumer insight and it is highly relevant. It is an instant laundry device that has a positive impact on the environment by reducing consumption. Its usage and interaction are very intuitive. We all want one.”

Senior vice president of global design at Electrolux Henrik Otto added that he personally liked how the Portable Spot Cleaner is similar to the Ergorapido being “a fresh new way of tackling a clothing care problem on the go, and with consideration for sensitive materials.”

Adrian Mankovecky wins a 5,000 Euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre.  The second prize was presented to Enzo Kocak from Monash University in Melbourne Australian for the Ribbon, a flexible thermos and third prize was presented to Roseanne de Bruin from Massey University in New Zealand for the Smoobo blender.

The People’s Choice award, voted online, was presented to Matthew Schwartz for his Onda Portable Microwave.