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

GDHA has reported an increase of 8% in sales via the independent sector, driven by growth across its three cooking appliance brands - Stoves, Belling and New World. This growth includes a 25% increase in GDHA's sales within the freestanding category and a 21% increase in sales within the built-in oven category. Overall, GDHA now has a 19% share of the cooking appliance market within the independent sector.

In response to the government's announcement that its trade credit insurance top-up scheme, originally reported in the Budget, is to be backdated to 1 October last year, the British Retail Consortium said this was a welcome move - but it fell short of the 1 April 2008 start date the retail trade body has been campaigning for.

Research recently commissioned by Whirlpool Europe shows that, even in the recessionary times, for 57% of UK consumers environmental considerations are as important as getting the best value deal when making a purchase. When it comes to buying household appliances, low energy and water consumption are top of the list.

The Business Network Online (BNO) - developed by the British Chambers of Commerce and Accredited Chamber Network - is the first network of this type to provide a safe platform for people to buy and sell their products and services from as well as to develop and build new contacts. The BNO, which operates through the trusted Chamber community, provides people with a simple and effective way to meet new business partners and suppliers as well as reach new markets and customers.

Ian Humphreys, managing director of BI Electrical Services (NI), has succeeded Jim Speirs,  executive chairman, NICEIC Group Ltd (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting), as president of the industry's charity, Electrical & Electronics Industries Benevolent Association (EEIBA). Ian has been EEIBA Vice President since 2007.

Although retail analysts are already reporting feeble signs of an economic recovery, in all probability there will be several months before the market reverts to normal trading conditions. Therefore understanding customers' purchasing behaviour in the recession and responding to it with suitable offers will remain a key business skill for weeks to come.

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

Following its merger with Yamaha Music in 2008, and utilising the company's expertise in the areas of musical instrument manufacturing and professional sound technology, Yamaha Electronics is bringing to the market a host of new products. The offer includes five AV receivers (entry and high end models), home cinema systems, including a model with a One Bar Home Cinema System and a TV stand incorporating multi-channel surround sound system and a digital amplifier, three models of speakers including 5-channel speakers. Also new is a collection of desktop audio products which is set to bring the company closer to the mass market.

Eighteen months after a fire has consumed company's buildings and £3 million of stock, Jegs' staff, its suppliers, customers and trade press gathered outside its shining new HQ in Leigh on Sea, Essex, to witness the official reopening of the company by David Amess, MP for Southend West. Mr Amess praised Jegs' staff and management for their dedication and tremendous effort which made it possible for Jegs to start trading again five weeks after the fire.

Morphy Richards' new Intelliboil jug kettle heats water to precisely the temperature required for making the perfect tasting lemon tea, black coffee or malted milk.  Intelliboil has three digital pre-set temperature controls at 85º, 95º and 100º which make it easy for consumers to prepare their favourite drinks. In-pack literature and on-pack PoS advise ideal temperature settings for different types of beverages.

Philips GoGear Opus personal player allows users to enjoy their favourite media on the go and gives them easy access to online content.

PURE's Sirocco 150 is the first DAB micro system, equipped with CD, SD, USB and iPod dock, that works with iPhone. The Sirocco 150 has been designed to connect to iPod and iPhone and has been certified to meet Apple performance standards.

With a new width of 880mm, the DD900BK downdraft extraction hood is ideal for accompanying large hobs.  Rising and retracting from alongside the hob, Caple's DD900BK uses a downdraft ventilation system and perimetrical suction to extract cooking smells directly from the cooking area.  The DD900BK offers a maximum extraction rate of 800m3h, four variable speed controls and a timer for convenience.

Whirlpool's freestanding AquaSteam ADP 8900 dishwasher is the latest addition to the company's AquaSteam PowerClean portfolio which comes equipped with 6th Sense technology offering great efficiencies in terms of water and energy consumption. For example on a 40-70°C programme, it saves up to 50% of energy, water and time by recognising the level of soiling and automatically adjusting the resources.

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

The LG RHT497H belongs to the second generation of LG digital Freeview+ DVD recorders with built-in hard disk drive (HDD). It can receive over 40 digital Freeview channels and pause, play and rewind live TV at the touch of a button thanks to advanced timeshift functionality - allowing users to step in and out of the action. Its 160GB hard drive capacity provides up to 477 hours of recording time. An eight-day programme guide allows planning recordings up to a week in advance. 

The new AEG-Electrolux Di9893M island hood makes a style statement in the kitchen. It has electronic touch controls with LED display and halogen lamps to ensure good visibility when cooking. The variable four speed control includes one intensive setting which means the kitchen will always be comfortable to work in and its 60dB operation is quiet enough to leave on while users are dining.  It also has a powerful 730m3h extraction rate.

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

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

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

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

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

The Electrolux UltraSilencer is made with 55% recycled shredded car plastics and uses 33% less energy than the average 2.000-Watt vacuum cleaner. The recycling process also saves 90% of energy compared to the production of these pieces from virgin plastic. Like all UltraSilencer models, it emits a noise level of only 71dB(A), compared to the average vacuum cleaner's 78dB(A).

ReadyDry - BISSELL's powerful fast drying carpet cleaner - heralds for retailers an untapped new floorcare category.

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