Armour Home Electronics, which is a part of the Armour Group, was formed in 2003 as a result of the acquisition of Veda Products ltd, QED Audio Products and Goldring Products Ltd.

For the benefit of IER readers, I ask Glenn to describe the profile of the company. “We are a manufacturer and supplier of custom-installed and consumer CE products. We manufacture approximately 80% of the products we sell, because we wish to be a one-stop shop. Our typical customers are independent hi-fi shops, independent electrical retailers, custom installers, overseas distributors and some of the multiples. The Armour Group has been around for about 25 years and its turnover is around £50 million. Armour Home Electronics is about two thirds of that; the remaining part is Armour Automotive.”

Points of difference

Some of the independents may be familiar with Armour's catalogue. “Our 250-page product guide contains all our consumer and custom-installed products, together with the information on how to install them. It sits under the counter of most of the stores. Ninety-five percent of products are in stock and if a customer places an order by 4pm one day, the product will be delivered to him the next day,” explains Glenn.

So how does Armour differentiate itself in the highly competitive and crowded consumer electronics market? “Our number one USP is training and technical support. We put a lot of effort into training which is mostly custom-designed. It ranges from product and sales training to technical training for installers.

“Second, we are only interested in the best products. If you come to us for speakers you can be sure that you will get the best speakers available, not only in the UK but also world-wide at that price point. We see ourselves as the BMW of consumer electronics. We are interested in product excellence, and the reflection of this is ten What Hi Fi awards in 2006 and nine the year before.

“Third, the company is profitable and British. We invest heavily in R&D; our R&D team is currently working on 53 products, such as sound systems, radios etc.”

“We aspire to be the best in the industry at everything we do: providing not only the best products, but also the best service and the best turnaround of orders.”

From the indies’ point of view

Why should independent electrical dealers be interested in working with Armour HE? “We can support them at every step of the way, ie teaching them about the products, helping them to supply the products and sell them to their customers. We are making it very easy for the retailer to buy and sell our products and make profit from them.

“So far we haven't had much of a relationship with the independent channel but we hope to develop it through Alphason (one of Armour's brands since 2006) which introduces our products to its independent clients. We wish, for example, to re-introduce Tivoli radios to the independents. Esquire and Active Home magazines have recently reviewed most DAB radios on the market, and concluded that Tivoli was the best one, so the independent should get to know it better.”

The industry perspective

What are the greatest challenges to Armour at present, I ask. Glenn doesn't hesitate: “The pace of the industry. The feature set on any product is ever increasing because the consumer is very demanding. At the same time prices come down under the pressure from the multiples, and the product shelf life is shorter than ever. So it is a constant battle to stay on top and maintain margins for us and for our customers. We are already working on the second and third generation of our award-winning speakers for which the demand is still very high. If you are serious about being someone in the industry you have to constantly invest in it.”

What about the brand awareness? “We want to put Armour on the map because of the so-called 'John Lewis factor' – the trust the consumer puts in our products. If they are buying from us, they know that they are getting products which are possibly the best on the market. We wish to build on this.”

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